Thanks Guy.
I'm still not convinced that MPs & ministers actually know what they are talking about. I recall an MP for a constituency not a million miles away from here trying to justify not publicising MP's expenses and quoting the DPA as covering companies - an MP who was one of the main supporters of the related change to FoIA in 2008 
The system is certainly a mess but, at the same time, we have to remember that civil registration was not put in place to help family historians. That is merely a by-product. Whilst I'm sure very few people would hate to see the facility disappear it is a sad fact that the modern world has to combat fraudulent activities which are increasing rather than decreasing.
Certainly, to that extent, measures aimed at prevention of identity theft and other frauds are not a laughing matter.
Graham
The thought that civil regististration was not put in place to help family historians is another of those myths often repeated by those who should know better.
Part of the original remit of Civil Registers was to aid family history by making it easier to prove claims of heredity.
Civil registers were not a new idea but a development of parish registers. This may be shown by the introductory paragraph of the 1836 Act for registering Births, Deaths and marriages in England.
“Whereas it is expedient to provide the Means for a complete Register of the Births, Deaths, and Marriages of His Majesty's Subjects in England : And whereas an Act passed in the Fifty-second Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Third, intituled An Act for the better regulating Parish and other Registers of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials in England, and also an Act passed in the Fourth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Fourth, intituled An Act for amending the Laws respecting the Solemnization of Marriages in England, are insufficient for the Purpose aforesaid : Be it therefore enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That after the First Day of March in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven so much of the said Acts as relates to the Registration of Marriages shall be repealed.”
One of the reasons for keeping Parish Registers was in the words of the 1812 Act
“Whereas the amending the Manner and Form of keeping and of preserving Registers of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials of His Majesty's Subjects in the several Parishes and Places in England, will greatly facilitate the Proof of Pedigrees of Persons claiming to be entitled to Real or Personal Estates, and be otherwise of great public Benefit and Advantage ;”
Back in 1644 an Ordinance was passed authorising
“and that said book shall be showed, by such as keep the same, to all persons reasonably desiring to search for the birth, baptizing, marriage, or burial of any person therein registered, and to take a copy or procure a certificate thereof.”
As for the ID theft, fraud argument it is a non starter.
Any system that relies on any public record as a part of any form of security is not only too weak to be of any use but it is negligent in the it promotes an false impression of security.
Cheers
Guy
