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| The Mail on Sunday published my baby’s birth certificate – these records should be private The Mail on Sunday published my baby’s birth certificate – these records should be private | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| On Saturday morning I was informed that the Mail on Sunday was going to run a story about how my 10 week-old daughter’s birth certificate didn’t include Tim Rice’s name. The father’s name had been left blank on the birth certificate. | On Saturday morning I was informed that the Mail on Sunday was going to run a story about how my 10 week-old daughter’s birth certificate didn’t include Tim Rice’s name. The father’s name had been left blank on the birth certificate. |
| The newspaper had evidently sent some hack around various London borough register offices armed with my daughter’s name and my full name and date of birth. And hey presto, at Westminster register office on Harrow Road, they struck it lucky. According to section 30 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, “Any person shall be entitled to search the said indexes at any time when the General Register Office is open for that purpose, and to have a certified copy of any entry in the said certified copies, on payment to the Registrar General.” | The newspaper had evidently sent some hack around various London borough register offices armed with my daughter’s name and my full name and date of birth. And hey presto, at Westminster register office on Harrow Road, they struck it lucky. According to section 30 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, “Any person shall be entitled to search the said indexes at any time when the General Register Office is open for that purpose, and to have a certified copy of any entry in the said certified copies, on payment to the Registrar General.” |
| So for the princely sum of £9.25, they will have been issued with a certified copy of the long-form birth certificate for my daughter. Exactly the same version of the certificate that I will use to apply for her passport. Let’s hope an identity fraudster doesn’t beat me to it. | So for the princely sum of £9.25, they will have been issued with a certified copy of the long-form birth certificate for my daughter. Exactly the same version of the certificate that I will use to apply for her passport. Let’s hope an identity fraudster doesn’t beat me to it. |
| I am in no way critical of the Mail on Sunday, far from it. It shows good journalism. They went out and found a story. Also in the same paper was a story about the actress Cressida Bonas’s financial assets gleaned from her company accounts. Register offices, Companies House – it had clearly been research week on the Mail on Sunday. | I am in no way critical of the Mail on Sunday, far from it. It shows good journalism. They went out and found a story. Also in the same paper was a story about the actress Cressida Bonas’s financial assets gleaned from her company accounts. Register offices, Companies House – it had clearly been research week on the Mail on Sunday. |
| It is the fact they were able to do what they did that makes me shudder. What I and perhaps many people don’t realise is that the long-form birth certificate is a publicly available record. There is no 30-year rule and no special hoops to jump through to get a copy. My daughter’s full name, the hospital she was born in, her date of birth, my full name, the town where I was born, my date of birth and, terrifyingly, our current address (although the Mail on Sunday didn’t print this) are all recorded on that birth certificate, that public document. | It is the fact they were able to do what they did that makes me shudder. What I and perhaps many people don’t realise is that the long-form birth certificate is a publicly available record. There is no 30-year rule and no special hoops to jump through to get a copy. My daughter’s full name, the hospital she was born in, her date of birth, my full name, the town where I was born, my date of birth and, terrifyingly, our current address (although the Mail on Sunday didn’t print this) are all recorded on that birth certificate, that public document. |
| There are two types of UK birth certificate. The short-form and the long-form. If you were born before 1983 then it is most likely that you’ve only ever seen your short-form birth certificate (the one printed in red ink). That’s because until 1983, the short-form certificate was considered evidence enough of a person’s name and date of birth. The short-form certificate is actually titled the “certificate of birth” and contains a person’s full name, sex, date of birth and registration district of birth. It is given free of charge when you register a birth. What we call the full birth certificate is actually a “certified copy of an entry on the register” and is the certificate that contains every bit of data you might actually want protected. | There are two types of UK birth certificate. The short-form and the long-form. If you were born before 1983 then it is most likely that you’ve only ever seen your short-form birth certificate (the one printed in red ink). That’s because until 1983, the short-form certificate was considered evidence enough of a person’s name and date of birth. The short-form certificate is actually titled the “certificate of birth” and contains a person’s full name, sex, date of birth and registration district of birth. It is given free of charge when you register a birth. What we call the full birth certificate is actually a “certified copy of an entry on the register” and is the certificate that contains every bit of data you might actually want protected. |
| In the age of social media, I have long tried to keep this kind of information to myself. The year of my birth has been a thing of myth – when the papers wrote about my pregnancy back in May I was reported as all ages from 28 to 38. As a private individual, I dislike my address being publicly available. The press coverage I’ve had this year has resulted in some rather loony approaches to me via the internet. Now, any Tom, Dick or Harry can post me their missives. It seems utterly pointless to opt out of the electoral roll now. Maybe it’s easier to move. | In the age of social media, I have long tried to keep this kind of information to myself. The year of my birth has been a thing of myth – when the papers wrote about my pregnancy back in May I was reported as all ages from 28 to 38. As a private individual, I dislike my address being publicly available. The press coverage I’ve had this year has resulted in some rather loony approaches to me via the internet. Now, any Tom, Dick or Harry can post me their missives. It seems utterly pointless to opt out of the electoral roll now. Maybe it’s easier to move. |
| But while I’m only slightly disturbed on the “what if?” scale, imagine a circumstance where a woman has been terrorised, assaulted or harassed. As soon as she registers a birth of her child, her abuser can find out where she lives. Surely this can’t be right? Why should the long-form birth certificate of a minor be a publicly available document? | But while I’m only slightly disturbed on the “what if?” scale, imagine a circumstance where a woman has been terrorised, assaulted or harassed. As soon as she registers a birth of her child, her abuser can find out where she lives. Surely this can’t be right? Why should the long-form birth certificate of a minor be a publicly available document? |
| People may argue the genealogists’ line – that it’s important for family historians to trace a family tree. But birth certificates of the very young can be changed. I have 12 months to change my daughter’s first name if I so desire. And if her father wishes to be added to the birth certificate, that too can happen. And if we both decided to change her surname, we could. | People may argue the genealogists’ line – that it’s important for family historians to trace a family tree. But birth certificates of the very young can be changed. I have 12 months to change my daughter’s first name if I so desire. And if her father wishes to be added to the birth certificate, that too can happen. And if we both decided to change her surname, we could. |
| Therefore my daughter’s birth certificate could look very different in a year’s time. So why should it be a public record now? Perhaps in 18 years’ time, but the short-form certificate should be evidence enough of a birth. As a proud new mother I’ve been very careful not to annoy my friends and “over-share” on Facebook – but it seems the government does enough of that for me in the public realm. | Therefore my daughter’s birth certificate could look very different in a year’s time. So why should it be a public record now? Perhaps in 18 years’ time, but the short-form certificate should be evidence enough of a birth. As a proud new mother I’ve been very careful not to annoy my friends and “over-share” on Facebook – but it seems the government does enough of that for me in the public realm. |