§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will review section 5 of the Public Records Act 1958 to allow public inspection of classes of public records earlier than 30 years after they were created. [270]
§ Mr. HoonSection 5 of the Public Records Act 1958 already gives power to the Lord Chancellor to prescribe a public access period of less than 30 years for particular public records in the Public Records Office. For example, records of British Coal and of the Treasury Solicitor concerning the Aberfan Disaster in 1966 and the subsequent inquiry were all opened together, although a number of them were less than 30 years old.