Herefordshire Council lost 750 birth, death and marriage certificates

The missing documents were eventually found in July 2022

Hundreds of blank birth, death and marriage certificates were misplaced by a local authority, it has emerged.

But while concerns were raised by government inspectors in February 2022, it took Herefordshire Council four months to report the missing 750 documents to police.

Inspectors said it was impossible to know whether there had been any fraudulent activity as a result.

The council said improvements to processes were being made.

The documents were eventually found in July 2022.

The certificates, bearing a serial number and watermark, are subject to strict record-keeping and also guidelines about their use and security.

In February, inspectors from the government's General Register Office (GRO) found Herefordshire Council's approach lacking.

'Nobody knew'

GRO found the keys to the Town Hall were regularly copied by staff and nobody knew who had a set.

The inspectors made 17 recommendations, but later reported only three had been acted upon and said the council had shown "a complete disregard for the report".

GRO also found related quarterly reports had not been carried out for two years and it considered appointing a commissioner to oversee the service.

The certificates were only found when a new manager took over and a team from Shropshire Council came in to assist.

That authority spent three months working with Herefordshire colleagues and sorting out security and stock control.

Since then, Herefordshire Council has doubled the number of staff and given them more training and support.

The council said: "We are confident that our processes and financial controls have improved, minimising the risk of fraud and ensuring the security of stock."

It added it recognised that "further work" was needed, including "developing the use of technology to improve our contact with customers".