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Complaints against the General Register Office

Recommendations

I recommend that,

• in relation to those complaints referred to in this report where issues remain unresolved, the GRO engages positively with my Office with a view to resolving outstanding issues and bringing the cases to a speedy conclusion;
• the GRO draws up a comprehensive statement for those individuals, who are required to provide acceptable evidence supporting the recognition of divorces obtained abroad, outlining precisely what evidence is required in such circumstances and advising them how they might go about obtaining such evidence;
• the GRO undertakes a detailed review of cases where it had considered that insufficient evidence was available for the purposes of recognition of divorces obtained abroad but which were subsequently recognised by the courts on the basis of the same evidence. The objective of this review will be to create a database of precedent cases which would facilitate fast-tracking the process and making it less cumbersome in the future;
• the GRO considers the incorporation, in its procedures, of an arrangement whereby the parent(s) of children whose births are to be entered in the Register of Births is/are given a copy of the proposed register entry in sufficient time to enable she/he/them to bring any errors in the proposed entry to the attention of the Registrar before formal registration;
• the GRO undertakes to create and implement its own Customer Service Action Plan as soon as possible;
• the GRO puts in place, on an administrative basis, a suitable appeals mechanism to deal with complaints relating to the provision of its services, pending the establishment, under regulation, of the appeals mechanism envisaged in the Civil Registration Act 2004;
• the GRO undertakes to adhere to liaison arrangements with this Office with immediate effect.

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