The combined deceased screening service from UKChanges was launched in response to users requests for access to the specifically identified deceased records contained in some of the non-traditional deceased suppression files.

In addition to holding all of the records from the Bereavement Register and Mortascreen; with the option to only include records from Mortascreen that meet pre-defined confidence ratings; the combined service also allows users to screen their file against records flagged as ‘deceased’ from the Universal Suppression Service, disConnect and the Mailing Preference Service. Users can choose to screen against all of these datasets, or alternatively can switch off certain files using the check boxes on the interface of UKChanges>online.

Previously, deceased records from the latter three reference files could only be accessed by processing the user’s data against the complete dataset. By identifying and extracting the deceased records from these files, UKChanges have significantly reduced the processing time required to apply the flags to the user’s data. The creation of this service has also removed the additional cost of flagging the gone away or preference service matches from these files: previously the flags would have been applied regardless of the user’s requirement to identify gone aways.

The inclusion of deceased records from the USS, disConnect and the MPS databases also increases the known universe of deceased records, improving the effectiveness of deceased screening and reducing the costs associated with print, postage, delivery and returns-handling of non responsive communications.