Mr. ErnieRoss asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why a Scottish Record Office file dated 1909 containing information on the force-feeding of suffragettes in Dundee is not open to public inspection.
§ Mr. RifkindIn pursuance of the policy adopted by successive Secretaries of State the 30-year rule and any exception to that rule authorised in England and Wales by the Lord Chancellor under section 5 of the Public Records Act 1958 are applied equally to Government records in the Scottish Record Office. In both countries, records as in this case containing details of individual prisoners are
Members Year Total Financial Costs Amount Disbursed No. of Members Salaries or Equivalent Expenses £ £ £ £ 1979–80 … … 816 Nil 29 Nil 816 1978–79 … … 1,099 Nil 31 Nil 1,099 1977–78 … … 616 Nil 31 Nil 616 1976–77 … … 1,291 Nil 32 Nil 1,291 1975–76 … … 697 Nil 35 Nil 697 Secretarial services are provided by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland.
§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give, for the latest available 12-month period, the total financial costs, including administration, of the Scottish Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council, the amount disbursed by that body, the number of persons, including secretaries, involved with the body, the amount of payment for, respectively, members of the body by way of salary or equivalent, expenses of members, and secretarial salaries and expenses; and what were the figures in all the above categories in each of the past five years, respectively.
§ Mr. YoungerThe council comprises 21 members representing the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the fire
522Wsubject to a closure period of 75 years. Applications, for research purposes, for access to such records before expiry of the closure period are individually considered.