§ Mr. JesselTo ask the Attorney-General whether the report of the efficiency scrutiny of the Public Record Office has been completed and when it is expected to be published.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Lord Chancellor has received the report of the efficiency scrutiny of the Public Record Office. The report is being published today and copies placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The scrutiny was set up in August 1990 to look at the functions, management and organisation of the Public Record Office, to examine the services it provides and to make proposals on its future status. The Lord Chancellor is most concerned to ensure that the priceless national asset of the records held by the Public Record Office is maintained efficiently and that the best possible quality of service is provided to those who wish to use them.
The scrutiny team has produced a wide-ranging report and the Lord Chancellor will be considering the detailed recommendations that it contains. He accepts the broad thrust of the report and agrees with the scrutiny team's conclusion that the Public Record Office should become an executive agency under the Government's "next steps" programme. Officials of the Public Record Office and the Lord Chancellor's Department will be drawing up an action plan for the transition to agency status and associated management changes.