Registers of Births and Deaths Bill

Simon Baynes Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 16th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Simon Baynes (Clwyd South) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton North East (Jane Stevenson) for the second time today. Like her, I will be brief. It is a great pleasure to support this Bill, brought forward by my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell). As he rightly said, we are talking about an upsetting and sad time, and that point was made eloquently by my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Duncan Baker). Considering the Bill has been poignant for me, as my mother died earlier this year, so we went through that whole process. Of course, the covid crisis brings this more poignantly into our minds.

I am happy to support the Bill. I welcome the removal of unnecessary duplicative practice and recognise that, if passed, the Bill will facilitate a more efficient registration of births and deaths. I also welcome the broad support for this change, including from the Government. As a new Member of Parliament, I have taken great encouragement from seeing the House working cross-party today. I commend in particular the hon. Member for Croydon Central (Sarah Jones) for her elegant and supportive speech.

I am pleased that the actions the Bill seeks to take will save up to £170 million. As my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sara Britcliffe) put it strongly, that is extremely beneficial to our communities. Of course, birth and death registers are run by local councils. In my constituency, it is by Wrexham County Borough Council and Denbighshire County Council. I take the opportunity to pay tribute to the sensitive and efficient way in which they conduct that business. It gives me great pleasure to support the Bill.