26 August 2008

A little more on BMD index digitization for England and Wales

The Federation of Family History Societies has posted a response, hardly news to those who have followed the issue, from the British Government to a petition on this topic.

After mentioning availability on microform the response states:

"GRO recognises that the creation of a publicly-accessible online index will be of even greater value to many family historians. GRO was transferred on 1 April 2008 from the Office for National Statistics to the Identity and Passport Service (IPS). IPS has confirmed that the creation of an accessible online index is a commitment which GRO will continue to work
towards.

A necessary pre-requisite is that all the registration records from 1837 must be created in a digitised format. The project to achieve this has encountered delays, with about half the records currently digitised. IPS is investigating a new project to complete the work and to address the requirement for an online index. At this stage options for the best method
of implementation are being reviewed, and new timescales will be announced as soon as decisions based on the outcome of the review can be taken.”

No timeframe. Best for who?

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