APPOINTMENTS with registrars of births marriages and deaths are set to take longer – and it s all Ron s fault. The registration service operated by Cambridgeshire County Council will be one of the first in the UK to implement a new computer system for reg

APPOINTMENTS with registrars of births marriages and deaths are set to take longer - and it's all Ron's fault.

The registration service operated by Cambridgeshire County Council will be one of the first in the UK to implement a new computer system for registering births and deaths.

"Registration Online", or RON as it is known, is already used to register civil partnerships, but a new extension to RON will enable registrars to take details of a birth or death from an informant, enter them into a secure internet-based computer

system, and print out certificates and register entries.

The new system differs from the one it replaces in three ways. Firstly, it is a truly national system, so that all events recorded around the county are centrally stored on a national database, simplifying the transfer of information from local offices to the central General Register Office.

Secondly, it is accessed via the internet, which removes the need for special local computer software. Finally, it spells the end of the need for registrars to handwrite entries in birth and death registers.

Instead, register pages will be computer printed and stored in a newly designed loose-leaf register.

The new system will go live in Cambridgeshire and in eight other local authorities on Monday, January 22. Registrars are warning customers that appointments could take a little longer than usual as staff get used to using the new system.

CCC's head of registration and coroner services, Jim Milne, said: "We believe that, once it has bedded in, it will contribute towards a faster and more efficient service.