§ Mr. Willisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the present general state of neglect of Scottish public records; and what steps he 376W proposes to take for their collection, collation, indexing and preservation, and for their housing in suitable and accessible conditions.
§ Mr. WestwoodI am advised that the methods of custody, indexing and protection of current records in the Register House are satisfactory, though the accommodation available is restricted. There are serious gaps in the cataloguing of the older records, which can only be made good gradually by a trained staff. Progress in this direction was unavoidably suspended during the war, when staffs were diverted to more urgent duties, but will be resumed as soon as practicable. More accommodation is desirable for the Record Office and this will be considered when priorities in other directions allow.