Westfields, Middlewich Road
Sandbach, Cheshire
CW11 1HZ
Tel: 01270 686605
Fax: 01270 529889
Email:
DATE: 11/07/2011 OUR REF: 802888YOUR REF:
Dear Sir/Madam
Ordering Copies of Birth Marriage & Death Certificates
Thank you for your request for information; our responses to your questions are as follows:
Q1How much do you currently charge for a copy of a birth, marriage
for death certificate?
Cheshire East charges the fees set by statute. See our webpages for further details Registration Service Fees
Q2Where Q1 response is greater than £9.25, please provide me with
the justification or rational for charging more than the standard
£9.25 charge by the General Register Office for Copy Certificates?
Non Applicable
Q3Can people order copy certificates from your council online?
Entries from 1837 – 1950 can be applied for online. A project is in place to input the handwritten indexes onto a database. When this is complete, it will be possible to order majority of certificates on line.
Q4Can people order copy certificates from your council to pick up the same day without extra charge?
No
Q5If Q5 is no please provide the additional cost and the justification or rational for not allowing same day pick up without extra charge?
I assume this should read ‘If Q4 is no…………….
The additional cost is £20.00.
It is almost impossible to predict the number of applicants there will be on any given day or what time of day the application is to be presented at the register office. A number of customers require the certificates to be issued on demand and whilst they wait. This causes disruption to the work flow of the officers concerned and limits their ability to answer telephones or be available to respond to birth and death informants attending the office for pre-arranged appointments. It is more manageable and cost effective if all the day’s applications are searched for, and the certificates prepared, at the same time.
Q6Do you provide a verification service prior to orders being placed? E.g. A person will provide you with as much detail as possible and then you confirm or deny if you hold a register entry for those details?
No. Cheshire East has a policy which allows for the return of the application and fee if the details supplied by the applicant don’t match those entered in the birth death or marriage entry.
Q7If applicable is there a charge for a verification service?
Non Applicable
Q8a How many copy certificates did you provide in 2010/11
b How many copy certificates did you provide in 2009/10
c How many copy certificates did you provide in 2008/09
a 8423
b9316
cFigures not available as this was prior to the formation of Cheshire East Registration District
Q9 Where the information is recorded, how many whole time equivalent employees (WTE) do you have devoted to providing copy certificates?
It’s not possible to separate staff time to identify this figure
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review, under the Freedom of Information Act you should write to the Compliance Unit, Cheshire East Council, Westfields. Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 1HZ
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely
Rose Raine
Compliance Officer