§ Lord Denningasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are aware of a proposal that the ancient records of the realm now in the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane should be transferred to a new building at Kew and that the building itself in Chancery Lane should be converted into Courts of Law, and whether such a proposal can only be implemented by a new Act of Parliament amending the original Acts under which the building was constructed.
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Earl HoweResponsibility for the use of the Public Record Office building in Chancery Lane has been delegated under the terms of the framework document to the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate under its Chief Executive, Mr. Neil Borrett. The agency is therefore responding to the Question.
Letter to Lord Denning from the Chief Executive, Property Advisers Civil Estate, Mr. N. E. Borrett, dated 25th July 1996.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE—CHANCERY LANE
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Earl Howe, has asked me to respond to your Question regarding the above.
The Public Record Office can confirm that the proposal to transfer the records to Kew was made in an Efficiency Scrutiny Report in 1990, and that the transfer is in progress and will be completed by December 1996.
The Public Record Office in Chancery Lane was purpose built for document storage and public search rooms. It is thought unlikely that the building will be suitable for re-use as courtrooms.
Future uses are being investigated, including whether any further powers will be required.