§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the whereabouts of Volumes II and III of documentation on the 1919 Admiral Jerram Committee on Naval Ratings Pay, Command Paper No. 149; and why a bona fide research student is refused access to these volumes for a social science research committee project.
§ Mr. DuffyWhen Volume I of the papers relating to the Jerram Committee was transferred to the Public Record Office in 1959, Volumes II and III could not be found. Extensive searches, both 251W within the Ministry of Defence and Public Record Office, have failed to locate them. In their absence, it is not possible to say whether, were they found, they could or could not be made avaiable to members of the public.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence why two of the three volumes of documentation on the 1919 Admiral Jerram Committee on Naval Ratings Pay, Command Paper No. 149, have been barred from examination for 100 years, in view of the operation of the 30-year rule.
§ Mr. DuffyThe whereabouts of Volumes II and III of the papers relating to the Jerram Committee are not known, although searches are continuing. In the absence of these papers it is not possible to say whether, were they located, they could or could not be made available to members of the public.
Although the normal practice is for papers to be made available for public scrutiny after 30 years, certain papers may be withheld for a longer period if, among other things, they are exceptionally sensitive on security grounds or disclosure of their contents would cause distress or embarrassment to living persons or their immediate descendants.