Birth of a modern Registration Service for Hampshire

Friday, 08 June 2012

Hampshire County Council is putting forward proposals to modernise its registration service (births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships) across the county.

At his upcoming Decision Day on 13 June 2012, Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber will be asked to consider a new draft strategy for Hampshire's Registration Service that aims to better position the service to meet the needs of customers in the future, as well as making the best use of resources to provide even better value for money for Hampshire's taxpayers.

The Service registers on average over 18,000 births and deaths each year and conducts over 5,000 ceremonies, the majority of which are civil marriages. It operates from 16 Register Offices across the county, of which five are within a library, five in buildings shared with other organisations, and six in stand-alone accommodation, with nine dedicated ceremony rooms.

Adapting to reduced demand

In recent years however, there has been a national decline in the number of people getting married, and a downturn in the number of marriages in register offices. Instead, more couples are now using approved venues for their ceremonies, of which there are over 150 in Hampshire - an increase of 28% over the last five years. These venues include a castle, stately homes, hotels, country parks, the historic Great Hall in Winchester, and even a zoo!

Safeguarding Services & Responding To Residents' Needs

The new proposals aim to secure a financially sustainable registration service for the future; one that continues to provide free birth and death registrations, alongside those services that the public can choose to use, and that generate income, such as civil ceremonies and the nationality checking service.

As part of this wider strategy, it will be recommended that a number of Register Offices relocate to more viable accommodation. Offices in Aldershot, Andover, Petersfield, Romsey and Winchester would continue to operate from the towns and city, but, over the next two to three years, it is proposed that they move to alternative venues to allow the old buildings they are currently housed in to be sold to make savings.

Register Office	Proposed change
Aldershot	Move from the current office to new accommodation that is yet to be identified in the town
Andover	Move from the current office on expiry of the existing lease, to alternative accommodation in Beech Hurst (Test Valley Borough Council offices)
Petersfield	Move from the current office to a new facility in Petersfield Library
Romsey	Move from the current ofice to a new facility in Romsey Library
Winchester	Move from the current office to Castle Hill (Hampshire County Council offices)

Meanwhile, it is proposed that the part-time register office in Bishops Waltham, which is open five hours per week over two half days, would close. This facility has been under-used for some time and alternative register offices are available in Eastleigh and Fareham.

Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber, said:

"The registration service is not accessed on a regular basis, and many people only use the service on two or three occasions in their lifetime. Many residents now expect to access public services in a different way and it is important that the registration service looks at how it can adapt and change to meet these expectations where it can. For example, it will soon be possible to book appointments for birth and death registrations online.

"By re-examining the use of buildings, co-locating, working in partnership with other local authorities, and relocating to other more widely-used public buildings such as libraries and council buildings, the service can work more efficiently in the longer term. This is an approach that is being adopted across the County Council to generate around £2million in savings each year, and which has already been hailed an example of best practice by Government."

Subject to approval, members of the public using Hampshire's registration services will also be asked their views on the plans as part of a phased consultation process, which would be published on the County Council's website.

• Registration Strategy

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