FAMILY RECORDS CENTRE

That this House deplores the decision by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to close the Family Records Centre in Islington in 2008, leaving England and Wales without a Public Search Room for the first time since 1836 and resulting in the compulsory redundancy of 20 members of staff; believes that the provision of a service online or on microfiche is a completely inadequate substitute, especially for customers requiring documents urgently, for example in support of passport applications and benefit claims; and therefore believes that the ONS's decision represents a complete withdrawal of services that the Registrar General has a duty to provide to customers ranging from legal firms to genealogy societies.