E-Petition for BMD access

[Roobarb]

I started adding the details of mine to FreeBMD when it was mentioned in another post but then forgot about it. I'll continue now!

[Just Kia]

Surely, the requests that have the full gro reference supplied, which due to the indexes I expect many genealogy request do have, then the "locate" part shouldn't be too difficult?
I'd quite happily locate, scan, print, put in envelope, send for £7-£11 per hour, sounds like a cushty job to me!

I think some are missing the point to be honest.
The cost of storing records is going to be there whether some one doing family history comes along and orders a cert or not, so that point is rather moot.
Many people doing family history would be happy to see a scan of the register, as on SP, for a nominal fee instead of paying £7 for a "certified copy".

Sometimes I just fail to understand why people get annoyed at others for wanting to make life easier.
So what if previous attemtps have failed - does failure mean we should all just give up and not bother trying again? I think not. Time to look positive, the more times something is asked for the more it is likely that a request will be considered.

If only one customer asks a store to stock a product it probably won't happen. If a dozen people ask once it might not happen, but if several thousand people ask many times there is a good chance they will be heard.

[Nick29]

Surely, the requests that have the full gro reference supplied, which due to the indexes I expect many genealogy request do have, then the "locate" part shouldn't be too difficult?
I'd quite happily locate, scan, print, put in envelope, send for £7-£11 per hour, sounds like a cushty job to me!

I think some are missing the point to be honest.

Would you make a profit doing it ?  Or break even, even ?  That's the point.

Sometimes I just fail to understand why people get annoyed at others for wanting to make life easier.

It's already dead easy - just fill in the form and pay £7.  What could be easier than that ?  You are asking for it to be cheaper, which isn't the same thing at all. Changing the wording on the document won't make it any cheaper to produce.  There are those of us who consider it to be good value at £7 - heck, driving once across central London will cost you more than that !   

[Preshous]

Make a PROFIT?
Its a government department Who should get the profit. Its taxpayers money to start with.

[Just Kia]

Would you make a profit doing it ? Or break even, even ? That's the point.

I'd be making more money than I have in any job that I have had.

It's already dead easy - just fill in the form and pay £7. What could be easier than that ? You are asking for it to be cheaper, which isn't the same thing at all. Changing the wording on the document won't make it any cheaper to produce. There are those of us who consider it to be good value at £7 - heck, driving once across central London will cost you more than that !

No, it would be easier as well. Instead of filling in the form, waiting for several days to see what info is required and possibly finding it to not be the person I had hoped, I would be able to search, view and either print or close and repeat with another possible - that's easier as well as cheaper.

£7 is actually quite a bit of money for a certificate that may or may not answer your questions. Not everyone has cash to throw around. We certainly don't these days, we're on one income due to my health problems, problems that also usually prevent me from being able to actually GO to records offices and the like, so I have no option but to buy certificates that I require, and thus have to choose them very carefully, whereas on SP I am able to view many more for the same cost.

You don't have to agree Nick, but do take a moment to look at the point from more than one angle. I appreciate that storage, employment of person to do job, materials and whatnot come into the cost. But that is the cost for a "certified copy", many FH would be happy with the same as what is available on SP (regarding bmd's). Not certified doesn't make it worthless in research, because you can still have the option of purchasing a "certified copy" should you require it.

[Nick29]

Make a PROFIT?
Its a government department Who should get the profit. Its taxpayers money to start with.

I think most people would expect government departments to be at least self-sustaining within their budget.  I think that there would be an outcry in this country if it came to light that the National Archives were being subsidised with taxpaayers' money, to help those interested in genealogy on either a professional or an amateur level.  I realise that we are in the minority, and it's majority rule that we live under.

[Just Kia]

I think most people would expect government departments to be at least self-sustaining within their budget.  I think that there would be an outcry in this country if it came to light that the National Archives were being subsidised with taxpaayers' money, to help those interested in genealogy on either a professional or an amateur level.  I realise that we are in the minority, and it's majority rule that we live under.

Wait, the national archives storage of certificates, census, etc is not purely for genealogists.
That storage is records of everyone born, married, died or resident (at 10 year intervals) in the UK. That to me is a majority, not a minority. It's not only the info for genealogists that is being stored, it's not being stored for "us", it's being stored for everyone. Just because we are the one's making use of the facility doesn't mean it is being done for us. I have no objections to paying a nominal fee to see what is in the register and then print it myself, even if that means it's not on official certified paper.

[Nick29]

No, it would be easier as well. Instead of filling in the form, waiting for several days to see what info is required and possibly finding it to not be the person I had hoped, I would be able to search, view and either print or close and repeat with another possible - that's easier as well as cheaper.

Kia, what you are proposing would require that the registers are digitised and indexed, and I'm fairly sure they are not*.  After seeing the costs of digitising the 1911 census, how would you propose financing the digitisation and indexing of the BMD registers ?

*I stand to be corrected, and if I'm wrong then that would change my stance on the issue.

[Preshous]

Self sustaining yes profit no.