HC Deb 02 May 1995 vol 259 c131W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list by grade and post those who have responsibility for deciding which internal documents held by his Department should be considered for archiving by the Public Record Office. [21991]

Mr. Heseltine

The Department follows the Public Record Office's recommended practice of reviewing papers when they are 10 years old and, if retained at that stage, again at 25 years old in order to reach a decision as to whether they are worthy of permanent preservation at the Public Record Office.

This two-stage review is carried out by a team of two higher executive officers and 10 executive officers.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the DTI inspectors' report into the share dealing activities of Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare will be passed to the Public Record Office. [21992]

Mr. Heseltine

The Department follows the Public Record Office's recommended practice of reviewing papers when they are 10 years old and, if retained at that stage, again at 25 years old in order to reach a decision as to whether they are worthy of permanent preservation at the Public Record Office.

The report by inspectors appointed under section 177 of the Financial Services Act 1986 to investigate dealings in the shares of Anglia Television Group plc will be treated in accordance with the above policy.

The disclosure of information obtained by inspectors under section 177 of the Financial Services Act is prohibited by virtue of section 179 of that Act. Section 5(3) of the Public Records Act 1958 provides for public access to records except when the disclosure of those records is subject to a statutory bar on disclosure such as section 179 of the Financial Services Act.