The recent Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) announcement late 2023, of a consultation paper proposing the destruction of archival will records, has met with widespread consternation across the genealogy community. To follow we share a collection of views, from major UK genealogy organisations and a selection of leading UK genealogists, about the MoJ proposals. We also share details of the petition to #SaveOurWills and information as to how you may voice your opinions. Helen Tovey reports.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) consultation paper, published 15 December 2023, proposed the digitisation of the England and Wales collection of wills from 12 January 1858 onwards – and the destruction of the will documents after 25 years, citing heavy storage costs as the driver for this move.
This proposal to destroy such a collection has met with extreme shock and in many instances horror by the genealogy community, of more below.
There is something (or rather four things) that you can do about it however.
1. Get informed:
The 32-page consultation paper, issued on 15 December, on the storage and retention of original will documents may be read here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/storage-and-retention-of-original-will-documents.
2. Share the #SaveOurWills news:
Time is of the essence. You can help to share news of the petition, started by professional genealogist Richard Holt, to #SaveOurWills. You can find details of it here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/654081
3. Sign the petition:
If you are a British citizen (living anywhere in the world) or a UK resident – you can sign the petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/654081/signatures/new Your voice counts: At the time of writing (25 Jan 2024) 10,171 signatures had been pledged.
This was a crucial milestone – as once 10,000 signatures have been made then the Government will respond to the petition. The next milestone is 100,000. Once that many British citizens or UK residents have signed it, then the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.
4. Write!
Respond to the consultation by email or letter, using the contact details (provided on page 40) to voice your views wherever you live on the globe.
To follow are views and comments from spokespeople from leading UK family history related organisations, and professional and individual family historians.
‘A dangerous precedent’
Dr David Wright, MA, FSA, FSG, FHG, Principal, The Institute o
