Genealogy Chat

Where images are available to view online ? Thanks, Debbie

Unfortunately not. If you want to see English certificates, you have to buy them at £7 each. Kath. x

hiya, for what?? census? BMD's etc??? i use ancestry*co*uk, replace * with dots, you can see BMD's for free, yoiu just need to register with them first, but for census you'll need to subscribe, i do believe you can also use the site on a PPV, ie say 5 quid for x amount of credits julie

england and wales is probably the most accessible im the world image wise.....you'll have to be more specific........dates etc.

I may be wrong, but I think Debbie means a site where you can view certificates (which you can do with Scottish certificates). Kath. x

oh right.....nope no such thing-poulation is about 10 times scotlands-too big a task

It just needs someone down south to get a grip on this. It's the logical way forward and surely only a matter of time? Denis

I have joined up to Ancestry as i thought the images were available there but it is only indexes. The sooner someone down south catches on that the Scottish websites are superior the better. Thanks everyone for you replies. Debbie

I don't think the GRO or anyone else in authority is going to be keen to get anything online when they can get £7 a time out of us for each certificate. It's raking in too much money for them. Kath. x

That's a good point Kath! Never thought of that. Still, you are in the World Cup and guess who isn't? Denis.

How much do you reckon it costs in staff time and overheads to read (or note down) a cert application (not all are done online), to look out the relevant record, photocopy it onto a cert, check it's legible, and get it into the postal system (plus PPS costs)? The main reason for the difference between Scotland, and England & Wales is that the two regions have different legal structures. As things stand, it simply isn't legal to make that sort of info so (semi-)freely available in England & Wales the way it can be done in Scotland. Christine

Another interesting point Christine. Yes, the costs must be very significant and puts the complaints about waiting for certs into some sort of context. As regards the legal issues what really matters is that if someone really wants this information they can get it readily enough - it just takes a little more effort in E&W. It will be interesting to see how this develops. I still think public demand will, in the end, mean a similar but perhaps better system is brought in in E&W once there is a greater awareness of just what's on offer on Scotlands People. I'm sure someone in GRO must be giving this some thought. Denis

It's coming... not sure when though! A discussion of what is proposed is available here: http://www.ffhs.org.uk/Societies/Liaison/Feedback.htm

Thanks for that Richard. There is a bit too much to take in this time of the morning, but I'll read it more thoroughly later on. I do note however that this site was last updated more than 2 years ago, so I don't think they are in any hurry to change things. Kath. x