Statutory registration in Scotland was introduced over 150 years ago. One of the key aims was to establish and maintain a complete and uniform system of registration. Accuracy in the registers of births, deaths and marriages was recognised as important from the outset, and in 1856, it was deemed necessary to create the post of district examiner to inspect the registers in order to guarantee their accuracy. Today there are still three district examiners responsible for examining all 150,000 records created annually. The utility of the registers themselves as an archive and the variety of uses, to which the information contained in them is put, is dependent on their accuracy and probity. Extracts from the statutory registers (commonly called certificates) are legal documents admissible as evidence in the courts.
In modern times, statutory responsibility for delivering the registration service in Scotland passed to the 32 local authorities. The service is relatively small, but extremely professional. Registrars are expected to have an expert knowledge in the law and practice of registration and to posses particular skills to help them deal with often difficult human circumstances concerning bereavement. To support them in that work and to ensure sufficiently high standards of service are met, registrars are usually expected to study for, and attain, the Certificate of Proficiency in the Law and Practice of Registration (the numbers of certificate holders in each local authority are contained in the Performance Indicator in Table 9.1).
The Certificate of Proficiency in the Law and Practice of Registration in Scotland is recognised by the Association of Registrars of Scotland (ARoS), the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) and the National Records of Scotland (NRS), as the professional qualification for registration staff. The certificate is awarded and administered by an Examination Board consisting of representatives of ARoS, CoSLA and NRS. The Examination Board was inaugurated in 1937 and the first examination was held in 1938.
The statutory landscape in which registrars are expected to operate is increasingly complex, in the last ten years there have been ten Acts of Parliament (listed below) which have had a significant effect on registration law and practice.
The Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002 (the 2002 Act) - provided for civil marriage at approved places.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Deceased Fathers) Act 2003 - enabled deceased fathers to be recorded in birth entry.
The Immigration and Asylum (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 - new and very complex, Home Office rules affecting the legal preliminaries for foreign nationals who want to marry or enter into civil partnerships in the UK.
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 - new provisions to allow individuals to change gender legally and new registration procedures flowing from that.
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 - new provisions to allow civil partnerships to be entered into legally and registered.
The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 - abolition of legitimacy and acquisition of parental rights and responsibilities for unmarried fathers who register the birth jointly with the mother.
The Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 - first major overhaul of principal registration statute for over 40 years.
The Adoption (Scotland) Act 2007 - new provisions to enable same sex adoption.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 - new provisions to allow same-sex couples to have fertility treatment (assisted conception) and to register as parents of a child.
The Certification of Death (Scotland) Act 2011 - new death registration provisions to enable checks to be made on causes of death.
Legislative change affecting registration is a good reflection of a changing society. For example, The Gender Recognition Act 2004 provided for a legal change of gender.
|
Year |
Number of Changes of Gender in Scotland |
|---|---|
|
2005 |
47 |
|
2006 |
43 |
|
2007 |
30 |
|
2008 |
16 |
|
2009 |
18 |
|
2010 |
18 |
|
2011 |
24 |
|
2012 |
13 |
With a constantly changing legislative backdrop, and in the face of large scale structural changes affecting how services are delivered, registrars have achieved excellent accuracy. Every year since 2007, registrars in the 32 councils have achieved an average of over 97% of the records they create error free - an impressive performance which underpins the quality and reliability of our records and the statistical data published in this Annual Review. The Performance Indicators in table 9.1, compiled from the district examiners' reports, provide a council by council breakdown of performance in 2012.
Table 9.1: Registration Service - Performance Indicators 2012 (by Local Authority)1
| 2012 Events 2 | 2013 Local Authority Data 3 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Authority | Births | Deaths | Religious Marriages | Civil Marriages | Total Marriages | Civil Ptnr'ships | Still-births | All Events | % of Entries Without Corrections | No of Entries with Errors | Dedicated Registration Offices | Integrated Customer Service Offices | Number of Certificate Holders |
| Aberdeen City | 3,044 | 2,127 | 451 | 453 | 904 | 19 | 19 | 6,113 | 97.51% | 152 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Aberdeenshire | 2,539 | 2,122 | 737 | 565 | 1,302 | 9 | 14 | 5,986 | 97.68% | 139 | 0 | 12 | 15 |
| Angus | 1,036 | 1,235 | 242 | 229 | 471 | 5 | 2 | 2,749 | 98.58% | 39 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Argyll & Bute | 771 | 1,061 | 588 | 480 | 1,068 | 11 | 3 | 2,914 | 97.87% | 62 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| Clackmannanshire | 656 | 537 | 84 | 94 | 178 | 3 | 4 | 1,378 | 98.98% | 14 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 236 | 386 | 70 | 47 | 117 | 0 | 0 | 739 | 95.40% | 34 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Dumfries & Galloway | 1,429 | 1,849 | 2,194 | 3,056 | 5,250 | 73 | 5 | 8,606 | 96.97% | 261 | 8 | 9 | 17 |
| Dundee City | 2,147 | 1,983 | 172 | 382 | 554 | 18 | 5 | 4,707 | 98.15% | 87 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| East Ayrshire | 1,364 | 1,300 | 190 | 262 | 452 | 5 | 7 | 3,128 | 97.03% | 93 | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 1,411 | 1,853 | 118 | 107 | 225 | 3 | 3 | 3,495 | 98.66% | 47 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| East Lothian | 1,101 | 1,220 | 340 | 188 | 528 | 7 | 2 | 2,858 | 97.59% | 69 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| East Renfrewshire | 1,168 | 1,300 | 174 | 150 | 324 | 4 | 7 | 2,803 | 97.04% | 83 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Edinburgh, City of | 5,886 | 4,064 | 1,181 | 1,764 | 2,923 | 139 | 29 | 13,063 | 97.96% | 267 | 2 | 2 | 21 |
| Falkirk | 1,834 | 1,658 | 323 | 475 | 798 | 7 | 7 | 4,304 | 98.33% | 72 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Fife | 3,952 | 3,683 | 890 | 751 | 1,641 | 28 | 23 | 9,327 | 97.62% | 222 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Glasgow City | 7,153 | 4,995 | 1,398 | 1,397 | 2,795 | 102 | 32 | 15,077 | 98.53% | 222 | 2 | 0 | 20 |
| Highland | 2,459 | 2,251 | 878 | 810 | 1,688 | 19 | 16 | 6,433 | 97.64% | 152 | 1 | 26 | 15 |
| Inverclyde | 763 | 955 | 156 | 69 | 225 | 2 | 3 | 1,948 | 99.13% | 17 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Midlothian | 773 | 738 | 205 | 184 | 389 | 4 | 4 | 1,908 | 96.65% | 64 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Moray | 922 | 986 | 180 | 187 | 367 | 2 | 1 | 2,278 | 98.77% | 28 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| North Ayrshire | 1,387 | 1,511 | 333 | 385 | 718 | 9 | 10 | 3,635 | 99.09% | 33 | 2 | 3 | 20 |
| North Lanarkshire | 3,945 | 3,548 | 545 | 438 | 983 | 11 | 14 | 8,501 | 98.91% | 93 | 0 | 8 | 14 |
| Orkney Islands | 199 | 214 | 77 | 37 | 114 | 1 | 1 | 529 | 97.35% | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Perth & Kinross | 1,237 | 1,571 | 507 | 534 | 1,041 | 13 | 5 | 3,867 | 97.80% | 85 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Renfrewshire | 1,975 | 1,991 | 356 | 275 | 631 | 7 | 7 | 4,611 | 97.87% | 98 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Scottish Borders | 1,230 | 1,310 | 266 | 398 | 664 | 13 | 6 | 3,223 | 97.86% | 69 | 12 | 0 | 6 |
| Shetland Islands | 273 | 202 | 46 | 55 | 101 | 1 | 0 | 577 | 97.57% | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| South Ayrshire | 1,002 | 1,398 | 524 | 377 | 901 | 14 | 5 | 3,320 | 99.28% | 24 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| South Lanarkshire | 3,470 | 3,724 | 536 | 616 | 1,152 | 16 | 16 | 8,378 | 96.98% | 253 | 0 | 4 | 22 |
| Stirling | 874 | 841 | 375 | 333 | 708 | 12 | 3 | 2,438 | 98.40% | 39 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 906 | 866 | 255 | 139 | 394 | 4 | 8 | 2,178 | 98.94% | 23 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| West Lothian | 2,212 | 1,504 | 556 | 328 | 884 | 12 | 14 | 4,626 | 96.91% | 143 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Grand total | 59,354 | 54,983 | 14,947 | 15,565 | 30,490 | 573 | 275 | 145,697 | 97.93% | 3,012 | 51 | 127 | 275 |
1) Reported by the District Examiners.
2) Includes all events registered in 2012 (including Re-registrations).
3) Excluding offices operating from another location.
More information about registration
More detailed information about registration in Scotland can be found in the Registration section of the NRS website.