gros today continuities and change

GROS TodayGROS TodayContinuities and Change Continuities and Change

ByBy

Martin TysonMartin Tyson

Departmental Record Officer Departmental Record Officer

General Register OfficeGeneral Register Office

for Scotlandfor Scotland

New Register House

An Act to provide for the better Registration of Births, Deaths and

Marriages in Scotland, 1854

History

Functional Stability:

• Oversight of registration system

• Data custodians

• Access to records

• Statistical reports

1861 Census: Arthur Conan Doyle, Aged 1, Picardy Place

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Major additions

• Census - 1861 onwards• 1939 - registration of population• 1952 - National Health Service

Central Register

Major causes of change

• Technological change

• Administrative change

• Societal change

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Technological change 1 - Databases

• processing of statistical information -

Vital Events database, 1974 on

• record keeping – NHSCR

• future of census?

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Technological change 2 - Census processing

• 1861 - by hand

• 2001 - imaged forms had most information automatically processed

• geographical information systems

• more data, more analysis

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Technological change 3 -Indexing

• 1854 - access via paper indexes

• 2004 - access via electronic index

databases

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Technological change 4 -Imaging

• 1854 - access to register data by extract copy

• 2004 - access to digital images

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

DIGROS

DigitalImaging of the

GenealogicalRecords

Of Scotland’s People

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

DIGROS will :-

• Provide access to digital images of GROS records for all of Scotland

• Enable family history search centres to be set up locally

DIGROS

• Digitisation of all GROS records

• Connection with existing indexes

• In-house and online

• Available at local registration offices

From this…..

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Scottish Family History Research Service will :-

• Promote closer links with National Archives for Scotland & Lord Lyon

• Encourage local councils to establish local family history centres

• Result in “genealogy campus” in Edinburgh by 2006

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forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Technological change 5 - Electronic registration

• supply registration software to registrars

• electronic creation of register entries

• transmitted electronically to centre

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forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Administrative change

• Changes in status and nature of registrars – professionalisation, Certificate of Proficiency

• Rationalisation of geography of registration system: 1027 Registration Districts in 1855, 231 now.

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forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

The Future - new ways of working

• Registration bill - powers for online

registration

• informants talking directly to GROS

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forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Registration Bill (forthcoming)

• 32 registration districts

• register births, deaths anywhere

• powers for e-registration

• Major move away from the parochial system of registration inherited in 1854

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forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Societal changes

• 1930 - adoption registration introduced

• 1939 – end of irregular marriage

• 1977 – Marriage (Scotland) Act – current basis for marriage law

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Societal changes – new and upcoming

• Gender Recognition Act 2004• Civil Partnerships Bill• Family Law Bill

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forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Gender Recognition Act 2004

• Set up Gender recognition panels• Recognise transgender• Set up gender recognition register• Allow marriage in new gender• Provide for existing marriages to

be dissolved

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forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Civil Partnerships Bill

• Allow same sex couples to register

partnership

• To acquire legal rights similar to

those of a married couple

General Register Office

forS C O T L A N D

information about Scotland's people

Family Law Bill

• Where an unmarried couple both jointly register a child’s birth, father will automatically acquire parental rights.

• 46% of births in 2003 to unmarried parents

• Only 6% registered solely in mother’s name

GROS: Records EnterpriseGROS: Records Enterprise

ByBy

Martin TysonMartin Tyson

Departmental Record OfficerDepartmental Record Officer

General Register Office for ScotlandGeneral Register Office for Scotland