§ Mr. BakerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the date and title of the oldest document or archival unit retained by her Department which has not been passed on to the Public Record Office for release for public inspection. [7207]
§ Mr. Nigel Griffiths[holding answer 8 July 1997]: The earliest known file, selected for the Public Record Office, but still retained in the Department under the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958 for the retention of records on grounds of continuing sensitivity, is dated 1952, title: Atomic Energy Board: minutes and papers.
The general arrangements for retaining public records are set out in Chapter 9 of the White Paper Open Government of July 1993 (Cm 2290).