AQW 46325/22-27

Ms Kate Nicholl
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 15/05/2026
Answered On Date: 01/06/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance, pursuant to AQW 35293/22-27, for an update on the scoping work being carried out by his officials to investigate the legislative work that would be necessary to allow his Department to share relevant death registration data with a Tell Us Once type service.

Answer:

Bereavement provision here is currently made by the Bereavement Service, which is run by the Department for Communities. Following a constructive meeting with Minister Lyons in September 2025, I agreed that my officials would investigate the legislative work that would be necessary to allow my department to share relevant death registration data with a Tell Us Once type service.

That scoping work remains at an early stage, with officials having identified significant legal barriers to pursuing such a service through the General Register Office in my Department. However, officials remain engaged with the Department of Work and Pensions, who lead on Tell Us Once in England, to consider if there are alternative routes that could enable the sharing of death registration information here.

I remain supportive of easing the burden on bereaved families here, and my department will do as much as possible to support this.