Online plan for births and deaths

Documentation of the death of Robert Louis Stevenson

Plans are in the pipeline to make registering births, deaths and marriages in Scotland easier.

The internet will be used to advertise forthcoming marriages and people will be able to make registrations online.

The proposals are part of the Registration Services (Scotland) Bill, which is now out to consultation.

Deputy Public Service Reform Minister Tavish Scott said the bill would help make sure the system stood up to the demands of tomorrow's Scotland.

As part of the plans a new book of Scottish connections held by the General Register Office in Edinburgh would allow millions of people all over the world to access and add to the information.

Registrar General for Scotland Duncan Macniven said: "The changes we are proposing to the registration of births, deaths and marriages are groundbreaking modernisation of a much-loved system, and will make it more flexible and more accessible for people across Scotland."

Among the ideas, births and deaths could be registered anywhere in Scotland, not just at the place where the event occurred.

Deputy Public Service Reform Minister Tavish Scott wants flexibility

Couples wanting to marry at sea would also be able to make their dream a reality by making all Scotland's territorial waters part of new registration districts.

And forthcoming marriages would be advertised on a website as well as local registration office notice boards.

Although the option for a face-to-face discussion about a birth or death would remain, people would also be able to register events using their home computers.

Mr Scott MSP said: "This bill has great potential, especially the book of Scottish connections which will allow anyone with Scottish roots to register an event which happens overseas.

"This will be an exciting opportunity for ex-pats, those with Scottish connections and others wanting to keep family records in Scotland up-to-date."