'WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY'

4 Feb 2002 11:11 AM

Modernising Government - launch of new high-tech storage facility for documents - Birmingham

Documents, including wills of some of the most famous people in the UK are to be held, centrally, in a new purpose built storage facility and document retrieval service in Birmingham. The Probate Records Centre will be opened today (4 February) by Michael Wills, Minister for the Courts at the Lord Chancellor''s Department and Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, President of the Family Division.

The contract, signed with Hays Information Management in July 1999, is worth #16.7million over 25 years, compared with an estimated #33million for a completely publicly funded centre.

The new centre replaces previous arrangements where Probate documents were stored in District Registries throughout England and Wales. The total number of records stored is 276,042 boxes and books, amounting to 35 kilometres worth of shelving space equivalent to the length of nearly 1,500 tennis courts.

Members of the public can go to any Registry in England and Wales and request to read a copy of a will for #5. Previously, a copy would have been sent in the post, taking several days, but the Probate Records Centre will scan the will and send it back to the Registry within one hour of the initial request. Plans are already in place to investigate the possibility of making the service accessible via the Internet.

Members of the public, courts and financial institutions often need to obtain copies of wills for a variety of reasons. Courts and institutions need to obtain copies for use in civil proceedings and to release assets to executors administering an estate, whilst relatives may want to get hold of certain wills to trace distant relatives and research family trees.

Records held at the centre date back to 1858 and the centre will ensure the preservation of these documents which include wills of historical significance, for example, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, Princess Diana, Florence Nightingale, Richard Burton and John Lennon.

Michael Wills said: ''I am delighted that Birmingham is now home to this centre which includes a scan on demand service that provides copy documents to the public within one hour of their request. Customer service is important as the centre deals with documents which often have a very personal and historical significance to those concerned and to the general public.''

Dame Elizabeth Butler Sloss, President of the Family Division of the High Court, said: ''The storage of Probate Records is a crucial part of the administration of Probate. There is a statutory requirement to store records in perpetuity. This splendid new Centre in Birmingham will make an excellent home for the records and will provide an accessible and efficient service to the public.''

Craig Routledge, Hays Business Sector Director said: ''The Probate Records Centre is an excellent example of a successful private/Government partnership. Staff from both the Court Service and Hays have worked together to ensure that the centre provides a high quality service that the public rightly deserve.''

Notes for editors:

1. The Probate Service

The Probate Service forms part of the Family Division of the High Court. The role of the Service is to issue grants of representation. These are either a grant of probate where there is a Will and the executor applies or a grant of letters of administration where a person has died intestate. The grant allows the estate of the deceased to be administered. Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss DBE is President of the Family Division

2. Michael Wills will open the Probate Record Centre, 65 Egerton Road, Erdington, Birmingham on Monday 4th February 2002. There will be a photo opportunity at 12.35pm when Michael Wills and Dame Elizabeth Butler- Sloss DBE will unveil a plaque. Michael Wills will also look at the will of Charles Darwin. If you would like to send a reporter to the event, please contact Martha Williams, Lord Chancellor''s Department Press Office on 020 7210 8805

3. Attendees include Gerald Angel, Senior District Judge, PRFD, Ian Hyams, Director of Supreme Court, Alan Sloan, Director of Finance & Professional Services, Craig Routledge, Business Sector Director (Hays BPO) and Stephen Booth, Managing Director (Hays IMS)