Not for discussion on list, but just in case you haven't heard . . . . From the FFHS: > GRO (General Register Office) digitisation plans appear to have stalled. > > In the August edition of Ancestors magazine published by The National > Archives (TNA) it is reported that 'The digitisation of Britain's most > important set of national family history records…has hit the > buffers…and there is currently no timetable to restart the project.' > > The report states that the main contractor for the project, Siemens IT > Solutions and Services Ltd, has pulled out. With parts of the project > named DOVE, MAGPIE and EAGLE it is tempting to think of the whole > planning exercise as having been bird brained. > > James Hall, the new Registrar General and Chief Executive of the > Identity and Passport Service (IPS), is expecting an emergency > internal strategic review to report its findings by the end of September. > > This latest development only adds to the frustration caused by the > withdrawal of the old ledgers from the Family Records Centre before > any suitable alternative was available. There is a statutory > requirement for public access to a complete set of the indexes of > Births, Marriages and Deaths. It appears that the GRO is going to rely > on its provision of microfiche copies to fulfil this obligation for > the foreseeable future. Sets are available at Greater Manchester > County Record Office, Birmingham Central Library, Bridgend Reference > and Information Library, Plymouth Central Library, and City of > Westminster Archives Centre as well as The National Archives. > Read the rest at http://www.ffhs.org.uk/news/news080703.php