asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will revert to the former rules governing the issue of a copy of a birth certificate by the Registrar General's Office, as a safeguard against criminal use.

The basic rules for the issue of birth certificates from the Registrar General's office and from local registration officers have remained unchanged since the introduction of civil registration by the Act of 1836.Any person who selects an entry found in the indexes of births either centrally or locally is entitled to have a certificate of that entry on payment of the statutory fees. If the person who obtains a certificate in this way decides to use it fraudulently, any offence committed is a matter for the police or other body concerned with the particular offence.The issue of a birth certificate cannot be restricted to the person whose name is entered on it or a member of his family.