I thought you might be as interested and intrigued as I was to see the following contribution to the KFHS List:- Quote >>>> '' Anyone on the list who reads Family Tree magazine will be aware of the campaign to secure easier and cheaper access to the older records of births, marriages and deaths. The following job advertisment for the ONS appeared in the Health Service Journal (it probably appeared in other publications as well though) on 9 August 2001. It would seem that things are happening at long last! I have abridged the text and can naturally supply details of the (very attractive) salaries on offer and how to apply if anyone wishes to do so! "The Office for National Statistics is embarking on a major programme to modernise the Civil Registration Service in England and Wales. ........... Civil registration started in the 1830s. It was designed for the needs and expectations of society at that time. The underlying principals of accessibility, having good quality information and preventing abuse remain. However, many of the reasons for the design of the system no longer apply, and so the system increasingly fails to deliver. The make-up of society it seeks to serve has changed. There have also been advances in technology to which it is not able to respond. Delivering the required changes to the current system will be challenging as it involves significant legislative, organisational and IT development. Success in doing so will provide a civil registration service fit for the 21st century. The programme team needs additional staff and experience. ONS is seeking individuals who can offer experience in any of the following fields:- Knowledge of Local Government finance Knowledge of health service records management Experience of legislative or policy work Procurement of a major IT system Project management of a major programme particularly if it involved the development and implementation of a large IT system with significant organisational change. .......... The programme will start late in 2001 and run through to implementation during 2005...............>>>> Unquote The obvious cynical response is that we've heard this sort of thing before, 2005 is a long way off, the legislative programme can't accommodate it and we don't know exactly what is proposed. But it does sound rather purposeful. Does anyone out there have any background information on this?? Phil Down, Chichester