OREANDA-NEWS. August 25, 2015. Mr Thomson, who is also Director General of Her Majesty’s Passport Office and sits on the executive management board of the Home Office, becomes the 21 Registrar General since the civil registration of births, deaths and marriages began in England and Wales in 1837.

His appointment to act as head of the General Register Office (GRO), formally agreed by the Queen, has been made following the departure of the previous Registrar General, Paul Pugh, who has taken up a new role outside HM Passport Office.

Registrar General Mark Thomson said:

The General Register Office is a very important part of the services provided by Her Majesty’s Passport Office and I am honoured to be appointed Registrar General.

I look forward to continuing my work with colleagues in GRO on modernising the registration systems and to ensure our customers receive the best, most efficient service possible.

The GRO oversees registration services to the public, including the registration of civil marriage, civil partnerships, births, deaths, stillbirths and adoptions.

It is the Registrar General’s responsibility to make the regulations that govern registrars and the registration processes. He is also required by law to create a free search index of registration records available to the public and to issue certificates on request.