§ 57. Mr. KennedyTo ask the Attorney-General if there are any plans to review the guidelines to Government Departments for the selection of documents for permanent preservation by the Public Record Office,.
§ The Solicitor-General (Sir Nicholas Lyell)No, Sir. The guidelines on the selection of public records for permanent preservation are kept under review by the Public Record Office, for which the Lord Chancellor has ministerial responsibility. There are no current plans to make any alterations of substance to the guidelines.
§ Mr. KennedyMay I bring to the attention of the Solicitor-General the written answers from each Government Department that were given to my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Mr. Fearn) earlier this year? With the single exception of the Department of Trade and Industry, those Departments evaded answering directly what percentage of their files were passed on intact to the Public Record Office. The DTI admitted that, in 1989, under 5 per cent. of its files were passed over intact. Surely that suggests, once again, excessive secrecy at the heart of Whitehall. Should not more of those files be made available in their full form for the purpose of future records? Does the Solicitor-General recognise that, contrary to his response to my question, the shortfall in the number of intact files passed on highlights the need for a review of the system?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI doubt whether that figure conveys the full picture. A large number of such files deal with personal instances, which are simply too numerous to be maintained in the public records. I find it hard to believe that the 5 per cent. figure arises except from the fact that the great majority have to be destroyed after 30 years. The guidelines are updated about every 10 years; they were updated in 1958, 1962, 1971 and 1983, and can be expected to be updated in about three or four years' time.
§ Mr. Beaumont-DarkDoes my right hon. and learned Friend accept that I was amazed, if not astounded, when a constituent of mine who had been a prisoner-of-war in 1940–50 years ago—was told that he could not obtain his records for at least another 25 years because of state security? Is it possible that, in the world in which we live, 50 years on is too short a time and everybody has to wait 75 years before they can have the records of what they said then? How can such records in any way affect state security?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralIf my hon. Friend looks at "Modern Public Records", the White Paper published in 1982, he will see that it explains the criteria for the selection of such records. Obviously, I do not know the position of my hon. Friend's constituent. It might well be that his records had been destroyed simply on the basis that they were personal.
§ Mr. Beaumont-DarkNo.
§ Mr. SkinnerWhy do not the Government bring the records really up to date and release the record of the statements and conversations between the ex-Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr. Heath) and the Foreign Secretary? Why do not they release those statements today to clear up the arguments that we hear between those two?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe hon. Gentleman looks fit and well, and I am sure that in 30, 40 or 50 years' time he will enjoy reading those records.