Children and Young Persons Act 2008

Information and research

31 Supply of information concerning the death of children to Local Safeguarding Children Boards

(1) Subsection (2) applies if, under the 1953 Act, a registrar of births and deaths registers the death of a person and the registrar believes that the deceased was or may have been under the age of 18 at the time of death.

(2) The registrar must, before the end of the required period, secure that the appropriate Local Safeguarding Children Board is notified of the particulars of the death entered in the register.

(3) Subsection (4) applies if, under the 1953 Act, an entry in a register kept for a sub-district concerning a death is corrected and the person making the correction believes that the entry relates to a person who was or may have been under the age of 18 at the time of death.

(4) The person who makes the correction must, before the end of the required period, secure that the appropriate Local Safeguarding Children Board is notified of the particulars of the death as corrected.

(5) Subsection (6) applies if, under the 1953 Act, a registrar of births and deaths issues a certificate to the effect that a death is not required by law to be registered in England or Wales but the registrar believes that the deceased was or may have been under the age of 18 at the time of death.

(6) The registrar must, before the end of the required period, secure that the Local Safeguarding Children Board established by the children’s services authority within whose area the registrar’s sub-district is situated is notified—

(a) of the issuing of the certificate; and

(b) of the registrar’s belief and the grounds for it.

(7) The required period is the period of seven days beginning with the day after—

(a) for the purposes of subsection (2), the day on which the death was registered;

(b) for the purposes of subsection (4), the day on which the correction was made; and

(c) for the purposes of subsection (6), the day on which the certificate was issued.

(8) The requirements of this section do not apply if the death occurred before 1 April 2008.

(9) Each Local Safeguarding Children Board must—

(a) make arrangements for the receipt by it of notifications under this section; and

(b) publish those arrangements.

(10) In this section—

• “the 1953 Act” means the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 (c. 20);

• “the appropriate Local Safeguarding Children Board” means the Board established by the children’s services authority in England or in Wales within whose area is situated the sub-district for which the register is kept;

• “children’s services authority in England” and “children’s services authority in Wales” have the same meaning as in the Children Act 2004 (c. 31).

32 Power of Registrar General to supply information to national authorities

(1) The Registrar General may supply information to which this section applies—

(a) to the Secretary of State, or

(b) to the Welsh Ministers,

for research purposes.

(2) Information supplied under subsection (1) to the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers may be disclosed by them—

(a) to any other person if the disclosure is for research purposes; and

(b) to a Local Safeguarding Children Board for the purposes of its functions.

(3) This section applies to any information that—

(a) is kept by the Registrar General under any provision made by or under an enactment; and

(b) relates to a deceased person who was or may have been under the age of 18 at the time of death.

(4) “For research purposes” means for the purposes of any research that is being or may be conducted or assisted under section 83(1) of the 1989 Act.

33 Research etc. into matters connected with certain statutory functions

(1) Section 83 of the 1989 Act (research and returns of information) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1) after paragraph (a) insert—

“(aa) the functions of Local Safeguarding Children Boards;”.

(3) In subsection (2) after paragraph (a) insert—

“(aa) the functions of Local Safeguarding Children Boards;”.

(4) In subsection (3) after paragraph (b) insert “; and

(c) the performance by the Local Safeguarding Children Board established by them under the Children Act 2004 of all or any of its functions.”

(5) In subsection (9) after paragraph (c) insert—

“(ca) Part 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002;

(cb) the Children Act 2004;

(cc) the Children and Young Persons Act 2008.”