§ Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how long access to his Department's archives in the Public Record Office in Hayes has been blocked because of contamination of records by asbestos dust; what action is being taken to remedy the situation; and when applications for disability pensions and other matters will be able to be progressed.
§ Mr. HanleyFollowing discovery of asbestos contamination the archive at Hayes has been closed to normal working since 24 June 1993, although restricted access for urgent matters has been maintained through the use of contractors or archive staff wearing protective clothing.
Responsibility for decontamination lies with Property Holdings of the Department of the Environment. Work has commenced on the removal of asbestos lagging and sealing the asbestos-sheet roofs, while tenders have been sought for cleaning the archive and all the records.
Priority will be given to that part of the archive containing service records and we are hopeful that unrestricted access will be possible from about mid-December.