4.The framework for the registration of deaths and still-births in Northern Ireland is defined within the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 (“the 1976 Order”) and the Civil Registration Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 (“the 2012 Regulations”).
5.The General Register Office for Northern Ireland is responsible for administering the registration of deaths and still-births in Northern Ireland. The local district councils are responsible for the provision of the registration service through 11 registration districts. There are on average 17,000 deaths and 75 still-births each year in Northern Ireland.
6.As required by the 1976 Order, all deaths in Northern Ireland must be registered, in any district in Northern Ireland, within 5 days of the date of death; and still-births must be registered within 42 days of the date of still-birth, also in any district in Northern Ireland.
7.The Coronavirus Act 2020 (“the 2020 Act”) made modifications to the 1976 Order and the 2012 Regulations. These modifications enabled documentation required for a death or still-birth registration to be transmitted electronically and enabled a death or still-birth registration to be carried out by telephone without the signature of an informant as opposed to attending in person and signing the entry. The relaxation of the existing requirements on the death and still-birth registration process has proved successful for the local registration service, the public and other stakeholders.
8.Section 90(2) of the 2020 Act enables devolved administrations to bring forward extensions to the provisions on a six-monthly basis. To enable the electronic transfer of documents between stakeholders for deaths and still-births and the registration of deaths and still-births without the attendance of an informant or signature to continue, changes to the 1976 Order and the 2012 Regulations are required and these are taken forward through this legislation.
9.Before the modifications made by the 2020 Act, the relevant procedure was that when a person dies, a medical practitioner will verify the cause of death and complete and sign a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) as required by Article 25 of the 1976 Order. The MCCD is given to the informant who takes it to the registrar to register the death. The registrar records the details of the death from the MCCD alongside other relevant details provided by the informant and the informant signs the registration entry. Once the registration is complete, the registrar issues the informant with a certificate of registration form which enables the burial/cremation to proceed. The informant takes the form to the funeral director as required by Article 29 of the 1976 Order.
10.In the case of a still-birth, a medical practitioner or registered midwife, who was present at the still-birth or examined the body of the still-born child, will complete and sign a Certificate of Still-Birth as required by Article 15(5) of the 1976 Order. The Certificate of Still-Birth is given to the informant who takes it to the registrar to register the still-birth. The registrar records the details of the still-birth from the certificate alongside other details provided by the informant and the informant signs the registration entry. Once the registration is complete, the registrar issues the informant with a certificate of registration form which enables the burial/cremation to proceed. The informant takes the form to the funeral director as required by Article 15(6) of the 1976 Order.
11.COVID-19 had a significant impact on the local registration service and has highlighted a need to move away from a paper-based process to digital methods of transmitting the required documentation when registering deaths or still-births. It has also demonstrated the need for a means to register deaths and still-births without the attendance of an informant. The electronic transfer of documentation between the relevant stakeholders and the remote registration of deaths and still-births provides for more timely, efficient processes for the registration service, the public and funeral directors. The procedures outlined above remain the permanent provisions for Northern Ireland in the absence of the temporary modifications that the 2020 Act currently provides.
12.The registration service will be able to transmit and receive documentation electronically from the stakeholders when registering deaths and still-births instead of documentation being provided in paper form.
13.The medical practitioner will be able to complete the MCCD and send it electronically to the registrar for the district in which the deceased died as opposed to giving it to the informant to take to the registrar.
14.The registrar will contact the informant by telephone or other electronic means to obtain the information required for the registration as opposed to the informant attending at the registration office in person. Once the death registration has been completed the registrar will be able to send the certificate of registration form to the funeral director instead of giving it to the informant who would then take it to the funeral director.
Background and Policy Objectives Notification of Deaths and Still-Births