§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what consideration has been given to reducing the time in which records held by the Public Record Office are kept confidential. [21986]
Mr. John M. TaylorConsideration was given at the time of the July 1993 White Paper on Open Government, Cm 2290, as to whether the 30-year closure period prescribed by the Public Records Act 1967 should be reduced.
§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what is the reason for the withholding from release at the Public Record Office of the 1956 Medical Research Council paper on the report on Hiroshima and Nagasaki pregnancy studies, document reference D314/49; [22016]
(2) what is the reason for the withholding from release at the Public Record Office of the 1956 Medical Research Council report on leukaemia radiation, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, containing mutation rates and minimum effective doses of radiation in various plants and animals, document reference D314/46. [22015]
Mr. John M. TaylorAlthough the Medical Research Council is not governed by the Public Records Acts, it has acted to ensure that its archives are properly preserved and made accessible to researchers by transferring historical records to the Public Record Office. Questions of this nature should normally be directed to the MRC. Nevertheless, I am able to say on this occasion that the continued retention of these files by the MRC is due to preparation activity in relation to the transfer of MRC material.