CABINET has approved amendment of the Registration (Births and Deaths) Act of 1881, to provide for the registration of the names of unmarried fathers.

The act also specifies that no child will be registered unless the father is named at the time of registration and that penalties be included for misrepresentation or refusal of the mother to name the father.

Under the proposed amendments, if the mother is unable to declare the fathers name, she would have to provide the reason on the appropriate section of the relevant form.

In cases where the paternity of the child is disputed, provisions will be made for temporary registration and the issuing of a Provisional Birth Certificate pending an Order of the Court," said minister of information Daryl Vaz who announced the change at the regular post-Cabinet Press Briefing held today at Jamaica House.

Vaz said the act, which was amended in 1980, widened the scope for registering the father of a child born out of wedlock by empowering the Registrar to include particulars relating to a person named as the father of the child in certain circumstances.