New government service ‘Tell Us Once’ helps new parents

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Published on Monday, 14 November 2011 12:21

Last Updated on 14 November 2011

Monica Costa

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A new Tell Us Once service which will help to make life easier for new parents is being rolled out across the country. The new service will help to cut red tape and paperwork when a new baby is born by making it easier for people to notify government authorities about changes in their circumstances.

The Tell Us Once service for both births and deaths is being launched by The Department for Work and Pensions in partnership with local authorities across England, Wales and Scotland.

With 770,000 births and 575,000 deaths nationally, Tell Us Once saves time and hassle and is expected to save users £66m over the next ten years. It enables key local and central government departments and services to be notified simply through one single appointment with the local registrar.

Under the scheme, up to 11 different services can be notified on users’ behalf, making it a much easier way for them to report their new arrival to the relevant authorities.

The benefits all round of Tell Us Once over 10 years are £260m, including a £192m saving to government.
Without Tell Us Once, it would cost UK citizens £50m over 10 years to notify government of their change in circumstances. Overall, if the current arrangements were continued, the cost to customers and government is estimated to be £1.1bn over 10 years.

Tell Us Once programme director Lyn McDonald says: “We’ve done away with the red tape that usually confronts a person wanting to report a change in their circumstances to government.

“In a single appointment at their local authority, a person can notify all the relevant government departments and service authorities of their circumstances.

“It’s a service that saves time and money. We’re providing a simple process that responds to the specific needs of people who need to be with their families and not on the phone to government authorities at a time when they need it most.”

Tell Us Once is already in place in many UK regions and should be rolled out to 96% of the country by March 2012.

For more information about Tell Us Once, please visit:

Reporting a birth: www.direct.gov.uk/birth-tellusonce

Reporting a bereavement: www.direct.gov.uk/death-tellusonce

Interesting facts:

1) Each year there are 575,000 deaths and 770,000 births nationally. Without Tell Us Once, it would cost UK citizens £50m over 10 years to notify government of their change in circumstances. Overall, the cost of continuing with the current arrangement to customers and government is estimated to be £1.1bn.

2) The total benefits of Tell Us Once over 10 years are £258m of which;

• Customer benefits £66m

• Government benefits £192m

3) Total cost of delivering the service spread over 10 years is £111m

• Of this, £8m are to local government

• The Net Present Value (NPV) is £147m (NPV represents the total cost saving of the service to government and taxpayers).

• The NPV to government is £101m

4) Tell Us Once was initially developed in 2007 in response to the report by Sir David Varney – Service Transformation: a better service for citizens and businesses, a better deal for the taxpayer. Tell Us Once has been supported by successive governments and has undergone significant piloting and testing before its national rollout.

5) Those wishing to use the service will need to bring relevant documentation to their appointment (passport, driver’s licence, blue badge etc). Information about what to bring to their appointment will be made available by their local authority. Further information about what to bring to an appointment is available from www.direct.gov.uk/death-tellusonce

6) Tell Us Once is being rolled out nationally, with 95% of local authorities across the UK expected to deliver the service by March 2012.

7) 99.5% of people surveyed trusted the people delivering the TUO service.

8) Tell Us Once currently contacts 28 different services in five key government areas.