Searching the new GRO indexes - share your tips!

[rayard]

When registering with the website do you have to give credit card details if you just want to search?
I have many certificates already and do not need any more (at present!!) but I would like to check on deceased children.
rayard.

[JenB]

When registering with the website do you have to give credit card details if you just want to search?

No, not if you want to do a search 

[rayard]

Thank you Jen for such a quick reply!!
I will register now!
rayard.

[dawnsh]

In response to Nick_Ips, this makes interesting reading (published this year)

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/560155/HO_response_-_ICI_Civil_Registration_inspection_-_October_2016.pdf

[Nick_Ips]

That is interesting Dawn, I'd read recommendation 2 to mean "Is £9.25 enough to recover our costs or should we be charging more from sometime in 2017?"

The digitisation project was stopped with quite a bit of work to be done, and it looks like there is no plan in place to complete it beyond the records already available in the new search facility. How that issue will be resolved is also interesting, and doubtless will involve considerable costs to the GRO and in turn us.

How much better would it be if a FreeBMD type model could be adopted for completion of the transcription/digitisation - this would mean a massive change of culture at the GRO, but we can always hope.

[dawnsh]

don't hold your breath - you may go blue in the wait 

At the time the charge was set in 2010, £9.25 was deemed to be the level at which certs could be produced at cost. It is not in the GRO's (current) remit to produce a surplus ie make a profit.

And while the GRO is part of the IPS Identity & Passport Service, producing certs for family historians is not their core business. I remember years ago seeing a piechart the GRO had produced and family history certs was a very small wedge.

I've been trying to find a more upto date set of accounts, the latest I could find for 2012-2013 here

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210619/IPS_annual_report_and_accounts_2012-13.pdf

Makes good bed time reading, but page 9 shows that £9.25 does not cover the costs.

If you want to read further, the statement also includes the financial situation towards the end of the document.

[clairec666]

How much better would it be if a FreeBMD type model could be adopted for completion of the transcription/digitisation - this would mean a massive change of culture at the GRO, but we can always hope.

Oh, if only!

Oh well, at least we have this amazing free resource that wasn't previously available to us, with mother's maiden name indexed etc. I for one have been making great use of it... I've only ordered one PDF, and that was on my "wanted" list anyway. I doubt it was the GRO's intention to give us a new free toy to play with!

[bradelkington]

I'm still waiting on a cert ive ordered on 9th nov dispite contacting couple of times still havnt received it

[Deirdre784]

I rang GRO on Friday re 3 missing from the 9th. They emailed on Sunday to say they agreed they'd missed 2 but had sent the third, could i check. I replied to say no, all three were missing. But the email box doesn't accept incoming messages - how silly - so i had to ring them yesterday. I had one this morning, and another half an hour ago, still waiting for the third, and for 2 outstanding from an order on the 10th.