Cambridgeshire County Council registration services team is set to re start birth registrations from next week, in a way which meets coronavirus restrictions and keeps parents, their young babies and registration staff safe.
From today (Friday 5 June), parents will be able to call the Council’s Contact Centre on 0345 045 1363 to arrange a 30-minute birth registration appointment at Cambridge, Huntingdon, Ely or March.
Opening hours are 8:00AM – 6:00PM Monday to Friday and 9:00AM – 1:00PM on Saturday. Initially all bookings will have to be made by phone. All appointments must be booked in advance with dedicated time slots, to ensure that social distancing and hygiene measures can be assured for everyone who attends.
Appointments will be available from Monday (8 June) onwards. Once booked you will receive a confirmation email giving you your dedicated time slot and the process to follow on arrival, which will include waiting outside the building. It is advised that everyone attending wears a facemask or other suitable face covering while on site.
Priority will be given to parents of babies who were born in February, March or April, and the registration service will seek to offer them an appointment as soon as possible, over the next four to six weeks.
Parents whose babies were born in May or June will be booked for mid-July onwards. If you are one of these the council would ask you to wait for at least a fortnight before phoning to book your appointment.
The baby and any other children should not be brought to the registration offices. If you are married, only one parent should attend; if you are not married and the mother wants to include the natural father’s details then both parents will need to attend.
If either parent is in the shielded group, or you have no-one to look after the baby and any other children, you will need to book an appointment for August. You can use the NHS number given when your baby is born to claim child benefit and other government benefits until the registration can take place.
If you book an appointment and begin to display coronavirus symptoms, or are contacted by the new Test and Trace service and are asked to isolate because you have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, you must call and move your appointment.
Staff will be able to deal only with customers who have a pre-booked appointment and at the time offered, so you will need to be prompt, and not arrive without an appointment.
As a safety precaution, the service will not be handling cash so only card payments for certificates (£11 each) will be accepted. You can get someone else to do this on your behalf if you have no debit or credit card.
More details can be found on Cambridgeshire County Council’s website