§ Sir Knox Cunninghamasked the Attorney General what is the basis for selection of members of the public who are permitted to view Cabinet and other secret papers, to which the Public 117W Record Act, 1958, applies, before the 30-year period has expired; and how many persons have been granted this concession since the 1958 Act came into force.
The Attorney GeneralSection 5(4) of the Public Records Act, 1958, enables the Keeper of the Public Records, when authorised to do so by the Department whose records are concerned, to permit a person to inspect records to which the public have not yet been given access. In no case are secret papers inspected under this power before that classification is removed. 489 persons have inspected records under this power since 1st January 1959. In addition to the scholars and historians who are authorised to inspect records under this section, Departments authorise the Keeper to permit the Press to inspect records about to be released under the Thirty-Year Rule.