Mr. John M. TaylorTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what are the current annual storage and maintenance costs for the original enumerators' books for the 1841/51–1911 decennial population censuses for England and Wales; and how many visitors to the Public Record Office in the last five years were granted access to(a) the original 1841–1891 census enumerators' books and (b) micro-film or other copies of those books. [74018]
§ Mr. HoonThe current storage and maintenance costs for the original enumerators' books for the 1841/51 to 1911 decennial censuses for England and Wales are estimated at £225,000 per annum.
In the last five years, 150 visitors to the Public Record Office have been granted access to original returns from the 1841 to 1891 censuses. No precise record has been kept of the number of visitors who have been granted access to micro-film or other copies of those books; our best estimate based on the number of visitors to the Census Room at Chancery Lane and, from 1997, to the Family Records Centre in Islington is 77,000 in 1993–94; 79,000 in 1994–95; 74,000 in 1995–96; 82,000 in 1996–97; 138,000 in 1997–98.
857W
Mr. John M. TaylorTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list all instruments which have prescribed periods of extended retention of decennial census returns, under the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958.[74020]
§ Mr. HoonThe following Lord Chancellor's Instruments under the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958 have prescribed periods of extended retention of decennial census returns by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and its successor the Office for National Statistics
Lord Chancellor's Instrument (Retention of Public Records) No. 5, 1985: allowed retention of the 1921 and 1951 returns for 10 years; now expiredLord Chancellor's Instrument (Retention of Public Records) No. 23, 1992: allowed retention of the 1961 returns for 10 yearsLord Chancellor's Instrument (Retention of Public Records) No. 38, 1996: allowed retention of the 1921 and 1951 returns for an additional 10 years.
Mr. John M. TaylorTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if the 1921, 1951 and 1961 census returns are closed to public inspection for 100 years. [74019]
§ Mr. HoonThe census returns for 1921, 1951 and 1961 are closed to public inspection for 100 years.
The closure period is intended to safeguard the confidentiality of the personal information collected in the census. Successive Governments have given an undertaking that the information would remain confidential. Protection of the credibility of the undertaking is crucial to maintaining the quality of the information collected.