Ensuring the accuracy of information collected and stored
7. Ensuring the accuracy of information collected and stored as part of ONS registration functions
There are independent checks in place to ensure that there is a baby to be registered or that a death has occurred. Information is provided by the member of the public registering the event who certifies that it is accurate by signing the register. Giving false information is an offence under the Perjury Act. Legally, any correction to the information requires the appropriate evidence before a change can be made to the original entry in the register. The Office for National Statistics' (ONS) inspectors perform periodic independent quality checks of the work of local registration officers. ONS checks quarterly copies of register entries to assure their quality. Access to register information both locally and centrally is controlled so it can only be amended with the right authorisation. There are a range of checks in place.
The current birth certificate is not, and cannot, be evidence of identity. Some people do use certificates fraudulently, for example to buy a passport in someone else's identity. ONS works with other Government departments who have an interest in the identity of individuals. An inter-departmental group identifies and works together in tackling fraudulent activity relating to identity.
