§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many papers her Department has currently withdrawn from the Public Record Office; if she will list their titles; and when she estimates that they will be returned.
§ Mr. SackvilleGovernment Departments have a statutory right under the Public Record Acts to retrieve material, temporarily, from the Public Record Office for their own administrative use.
The number of items and frequency of such retrievals can vary considerably but, as at 5 November 1992, the Department of Health had 275 files out on loan to it. A list of these could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Such records arc returned to the Public Record Office as soon as departmental action has been completed.