Registration in a UK Devolved Administration European Association of Registrars – 13 th Congress May 13-14, 2013 Bled, Slovenia Rod Burns Deputy Registrar General for Scotland

Introduction Relatively new to world of registration (April 2011) 10 years’ experience in devolved policy-making prior to joining NRS Without a doubt, DRG by far the best job I’ve ever had Like to share some perspectives from time in post Try to balance a sense of intrinsic worth of the job with devolved aspects

Scotland and the UK – Devolution 1997 new Labour administration, referendum on Scottish Parliament Scotland Act 1998 – radical constitutional settlement, registration devolved July 1999 – Scottish Parliament, Scottish Executive convened Since 2007 ‘Scottish Executive’ known as ‘Scottish Government’ SNP administration announced 2014 referendum on Scottish independence

Scotland Compared to England/Wales – Historic Differences NRS a non-ministerial department of Scottish Government GRO E&W part of the Home Office (Identity and Passport Office) Separate foundation dates for statutory registration (1855/1837 E&W) As with education, legal system and so on, entirely separate system Lots of ongoing practical differences, range of areas

Contemporary Practice – Marriage England authorises marriage venues, Scotland celebrants Church of England handles legal preliminaries (all by registrars in Scotland) 7 day residence requirement; notification by post in Scotland Designated offices for immigration issues (all Scottish offices designated) 2 registrars attend (1 solemnise, 1 register); 1 registrar in Scotland

Contemporary Practice – Death etc Registration Deaths registered in district where occurred; any district in Scotland (Also applies to registration of births) Completed registers held by superintendent registrar Registers owned/held by NRS centrally; also primarily electronic No formal change of name service in England

Contemporary Practice – IT First electronic registration system replaced in Scotland by FER, late 1990s Forward Electronic Register – centrally developed, maintained, supported Primary source of information – register entries, statistical information Equivalent in England RON (Registration On-line) FER explicitly developed in partnership with registrars – based on identified needs

Contemporary Practice – Education and Training Specialised registration qualification in Scotland (since 1937) Certificate of Proficiency in the Law and Practice of Registration in Scotland Dedicated central training support for registrars, multiple exam settings Moving to computerised examination shortly Builds on partnership model for Scottish registration service

International Dimensions – CIEC Interesting fact – Scotland leads for UK in CIEC (British section) Longstanding engagement, continuing to end 2013 Scotland one of 6 countries participating in CDEP pilot work After 2013, UK as state entity withdrawing from CIEC membership Scotland (sub-state entity) must also withdraw; significant brake on actions

Lessons Learned Even in small islands (less than 900 miles long), huge variety of practice History of separate registration systems enabled devolved practice Devolution allowed individual registration legislation to pass LEARS Act gave broad powers to RG – data sharing, ownership, authority Not insular (work extensively with E/W and NI), but distinct

Lessons Learned – continued Current constitutional arrangements allow radically different systems/results Same sex marriage likely to be adopted in E/W and Scotland, but not NI Flexibility of policy-making available to Ministers Key example – certification of death systems (response to Shipman case) Medical reviewers checking 100% of death entries in E/W, 27% Scotland

The Future Scottish Ministers recently announced date for independence referendum September 18, 2014 – watch the news! If adopted, potentially huge implications for NRS and registration Under independence many new ‘Scottish’ functions (tax, benefits, passports) No idea what will happen, but will be ‘interesting times’

History of Partnership – Association of Registrars of Scotland In concluding, wanted to stress long partnership with ARoS GROS/now NRS works extensively with ARoS as key stakeholder Hugely valued expertise, responsiveness, representation 2015 is 150 th anniversary of the Association, wish happy birthday Will continue rich partnership for improvement of registration in Scotland

Conclusion, Apologies Thanks for opportunity to share some thoughts Happy to take questions Must apologise for text-based presentation, lack of traditional images Few pictures to leave you with But bear in mind Scotland more complex, interesting place than this!