Births registrars facing big backlog

DEALING with a “significant” backlog of birth registrations caused by the coronavirus outbreak could take Gloucestershire County Council staff approximately seven weeks, the authority said.

According to a council report, there is currently a backlog of 1,500 babies to register in Gloucestershire following the authority’s resumption of the service in early June.

The county council thinks if it could get full take-up of availability, which is 48 birth appointments per day, it could clear the backlog in about seven weeks.

Registration services such as wedding ceremonies and birth registrations were shut down in March due to Covid-19.

Between April 6 and the end of May, 914 ceremonies were amended, cancelled or postponed, according to the council document, and council staff are working through these “in priority order with a further 70 ceremonies in June to re-arrange”.

The authority said it was unable to draft in employees from other departments as staff needed significant training and experience in order to register births accurately and meet legal requirements.

A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire County Council said: “There shouldn’t be any adverse effects on parents. Normally you would need to register a child to get child benefit but under the current Covid-19 regulations, claims for child benefit or universal credit can be made prior to the birth being registered, where they have not been able to do so because of the restrictions that were previously in place. Also if a baby hasn’t been registered with a GP but needs to see one, emergency treatment will be provided from any GP surgery. Most GP surgeries will be able to register your baby as a patient online or over the phone.”

Marriage and civil partnership ceremonies resumed on July 4, with the Government indicating up to 30 people may attend the ceremony. The county council is waiting for the Government to issue details about the lifting of wedding ceremony restrictions, the report said.