§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the date and title of the oldest document or archival unit retained by his Department which has not been passed on to the Public Record Office for release for public inspection. [7197]
§ Mr. DewarThe records of my Department are specifically exempted from the Public Records Act 1958, and therefore are not passed to the Public Record Office. However, broadly similar procedures apply to the transfer of records to the Scottish Record Office (SRO). In 1994 a review was conducted within the Scottish Office to establish the number of files retained beyond the 30 year point, and this list has since been updated annually. All such files are reported to the Scottish Records Advisory Council (SRAC), with an explanation as to why they have been retained. The oldest recorded file in this category was opened in 1949 and is titled "Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948—Cottars". It has been held for administrative reasons as it contains papers relevant to the eligibility of a rare class of landholder for assistance under the Crofters Building Grants and Loans Scheme.