AQW 32350/22-27

Ms Kate Nicholl
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 30/09/2025
Answered On Date: 05/11/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to outline the reason why Northern Ireland is not included in the Tell Us Once service operated by the UK Government.

Answer:

When the Tell Us Once Service was introduced in 2011, the Department for Communities explored the possibility of adopting the service. However, implementation was not possible at that time as the required participation of the General Register Office for Northern Ireland; and supporting legislative changes, were not agreed. More recently discussion has resumed about extending bereavement services in Northern Ireland. However significant obstacles to data sharing remain with no timescale agreed for new legislation.