HC Deb 26 February 1946 vol 419 c375W
Mr. Kirkwood

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what claims have been made by, or on the advice of, the advisory council on the records of Scotland for the return from English custody of ancient documents removed from Scotland; whether the Keeper of the Records in England still withholds any of these documents; and whether, in order to uphold both the spirit and the letter of the treaty signed at Northampton in 1328, he is prepared to assist in securing the return to the custody of the Keeper of the Records at the Register House in Edinburgh of these historic national records.

Mr. Westwood

Certain Scottish records removed from Scotland in 1296 and listed in the First Schedule to the Public Records (Scotland) Act, 1937, were duly returned as provided for by that Act. Proposals for further transfers, which in terms of the Act require the consent of the Master of the Rolls, were made to the Public Record Office in 1939 on the advice of the Scottish Records Advisory Council; but owing to the war the matter could not usefully be pursued. Many of the records in question are still dispersed, but I propose to take an early opportunity of examining the position in consultation with the Master of the Rolls.