Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of all birth registrations being conducted in a sure start centre or equivalent family support centre; and whether it is his Department's policy to have all registrations take place in those centres.

The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 provides for every child’s birth to be recorded in a register kept for the sub-district in which the child was born.

Related legislation allows for the registration to take place in a wide range of premises such as Town Halls, hospitals, libraries and children’s centres. It is a matter for local authorities to determine the locations in which births are registered and to tailor their services to best meet the needs of their local community.