Part 1: Main Provisions Section 18 and Schedule 13: Registration of deaths and still-births etc Part 1 – England and Wales
The list of people who can give the necessary information to register a death under sections 16 and 17 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 (the "1953 Act"), is extended to include, where authorised by the deceased’s family, a funeral director. The requirements in the 1953 Act for a person to attend the Registrar’s office and sign the register in relation to a death (or still birth) in the presence of the Registrar is removed. Instead, information can be provided over the telephone or by any other method specified by the Registrar General in guidance.
	Section 22 of the 1953 Act, which requires the medical practitioner who personally attended the deceased during their last illness to sign the medical certificate of cause of death ("MCCD") is modified. If this is impractical for the doctor, or if they are unable to do this, another doctor can state the cause of death to the best of their knowledge and belief and this certificate can be delivered to the Registrar to enable the death to be registered. Paragraph 4 also allows a doctor to sign the MCCD of a deceased person who was not attended personally during their last illness by a doctor, if the doctor can state cause of death to the best of their knowledge and belief.
	The requirement for a death to be reported to the coroner if the deceased had not been seen by a doctor during their last illness is relaxed as long as there are no other factors that require the death to be reported to the coroner, and the doctor can state to the best of their knowledge and belief the cause of death. Without this provision there would be increased pressure on the coronial service arising from the modifications to section 22 of the 1953 Act.
	The Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019 are also modified to limit the circumstances when a medical practitioner needs to notify a coroner of a person’s death under regulation 3(1).
	The Registration of Births and Deaths Regulations 1987 (the "1987 Regulations") (at regulations 34, 42, 43 and 47) require a ‘qualified informant’ (a person allowed by the 1953 Act), normally a family member, to attend personally before a registrar to give the information to register the death (or still-birth). Paragraph 6 removes this requirement enabling registrars and members of the public to register deaths (or still-births) even if they cannot, for whatever reason, travel to a register office. This reduces the chance of cross infection in the general public and enables those who cannot travel due to their own illness, or caring responsibilities, or any other factor, to register a death.
	The requirement in regulation 41(1)(b)(ii) of the 1987 Regulations that a death must be reported to the coroner if the certifying doctor has not seen the deceased after death or within 14 days from the date of death is relaxed so that the death need not be reported to the coroner if another doctor, other than the one certifying the cause of death, has seen the deceased after death or within an extended period of 28 days.