Birth Registration

[blue1948]

Been a while since I have been on here but here we go .Why is it 42 days to register a birth in UK ?
There must be a logical answer but I cannot find out why six weeks is the limit.

[Neveracrossword]

It's only 21 days in Scotland. That seems more sensible to me - six weeks is very long!

[Mamyalynne]

You may not find the answer you're after but some reading here on the history of registration.

https://www.angliaresearch.co.uk/articles/the-history-behind-your-birth-certificate/

[Buenchico]

The 42 day limit has been in place since 1874. (There's been subsequent legislation passed but that has only carried forward the relevant provisions of the 1874 Act). Prior to that, from 1836 onwards, the limit was only 15 days.

Perhaps it was recognised that in some very rural parts of the country (particularly in mountainous areas) simply getting to a register office could be difficult when there were many weeks of heavy snowfall. (Victorian winters were far harsher than those we experience nowadays, with some hamlets possibly cut off from main centres of population for a month or more).

Even 42 days isn't long enough for some people it seems:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/8878818/Hugh-Grant-faces-fine-for-not-registering-baby-within-42-days.html

[spathiphyllum]

I have no legal knowledge.

I assume you can register before 42 days?
If so, then 42 days gives more than enough time for any health complications or travel complications or what not to have been resolved to be able to register.

[bednobs]

my register office is 20+ miles from where i live. I wasnt able to drive followig a csection for six ish weeks. Plus appointment are actually quite hard to come by round here. Just gettig out of the front door when you have a newborn is super tricky. All of thoe factors meant we only just scraped in!

[maggiebee]

Thought the time limit was much shorter in Scotland - thanks for confirming Neveracrossword.

[Peter Pedant]

s.2 of the relevant act
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/1-2/20

Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1953

( pursuant to some regulations from 1949)

[blue1948]

Thanks for all the answers but none explained fully why it is 6 weeks and not seven for example .I am sure with way government works there must be a definite reason for 42 days .

[ummmm]

If you have a C Section you can't drive for 6 weeks. You can register a baby any time before that

[Prudie]

If it was picked in 1874 I'm not sure you can apply any modern day logic to why it wasn't 7 or 5 or any other number of weeks.
As so much was based around 12 - money, hours on a clock, months in a year then using 6 doesn't seem that odd to pick.

[zebo]

Why not 42 days? If there has to be a limit why is one any better than another? Why are there 7 days in a week, it's an odd number, prime even?

[jno]

exactly, zebo, you could equally be asking "why 6 weeks?" or "why 6 months?"

Re the days in the week: there were seven heavenly bodies known at the time. So Sun day, Moon day, Mars day, Mercury day, Jupiter day, Venus day, Saturn day. The middle ones got switched to Norse deities in English but you can still see them in French: mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi.

[jno]

Buenchico, registration wasn't compulsory before 1874, so whatever the official time limit it might not have happened anyway.

[Cloverjo]

Why six weeks? Why not? They’ve got to pick some number, otherwise people could go on forever not bothering to do it.

[blue1948]

Prudie I cannot see your logic you cannot justify the answer based on 12 when we had so many other bases 2,4,8,10,14,16,20,22, to name a few so your logic could apply to any or all .Also there was need pressure to apply modern day logic at all .I just wondered where and how it came to be that length of time !

[Prudie]

In what area did everyday people use base 2,4,8,14,16,20,22 in those days?

[Peter Pedant]

did I just read right ?

why is is 42 days ?
answer because s 2 of the act specifies 42 d
yeah, why is it 42 d ?

you can tell this is AB just by reading this post

[zebo]

Prudie, re number bases, those of us of a certain age used to use a wide variety of number bases regularly, albeit subconsciously.
£ s d bases 12 and 20
s lb oz bases 14 and 16
gall pints oz bases bases 8 and 20

During a school-wide project about WW2 I did mathemtics using imperial measures. Oddly the 8/9 year olds dealt with it very well once they had the conversion figures and one lad commented 'I can't believe my grandma could do this!'. They gained a new respect.