Mr. John M. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which of the decennial population returns for Scotland have been closed to public inspection for(a) 100 years, (b) 80 years or (c) permanently. [84495]
§ Mr. MacdonaldThe 1841–91 census returns are open to the public. The 1901 and later census returns are closed for 100 years. No census returns are kept closed for 80 years, nor are any closed permanently.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. John M. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list(a) the linear metres of storage space occupied by each of the pre-1992 decennial census returns for Scotland, (b) the actual costs, at current prices, of microfilming each of the pre-1901 census returns and (c) the average microfilm cost per linear metre, at current prices.[84496]
§ Mr. MacdonaldThe 1841–91 census returns for Scotland which are open to the public occupy approximately the following amounts of shelving in accommodation belonging to the Registrar General for 391W Scotland. For more details of the storage space occupied by the 1901 and later censuses, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire (Sir B. Mawhinney) on 13 May 1999, Official Report, column 191.
Linear metres 1841 Census 1278 47 1851 Census 2176 26.9 1861 Census 21,328 35.9 1871 Census 21,392 26.9 1881 Census 21,080 26.9 1891 Census 21,480 39.2 All open censuses — 202.8 All closed censuses — 6,025.8 All censuses — 6,228.6 1 Boxes 2 Volumes The open censuses have all been microfilmed and there are no plans to refilm. Information on the actual costs of filming—which took place over a period of years starting in the 1950s—cannot now be assembled.
As a very approximate guide, the estimated cost at 1999 prices of microfilming paper volumes of census returns such as would take up one linear metre of shelving might be of the order of £400 to £500.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. John M. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the text of the(a) non-statutory assurances of confidentiality and (b) 100-year extended closure given by the Registrar General on the householders' forms for the 20th century censuses of population for Scotland. [84497]
§ Mr. Macdonald(a) The text appearing on the various census returns is as follows:
1901
The Return is required for carrying out the provisions of the Census Act. The contents of the Schedules will be treated as confidential; they will be published in General Abstracts only, and strict care will be taken that the Returns are not used for the gratification of curiosity, or for other purposes than those of the Census.
1911
The contents of the Schedule will be treated as strictly confidential.
1921
Strictly Confidential (marked at top of Householder's Schedule).
1931
Strictly Confidential (marked at top of Householder's Schedule).
1951
The contents of the schedule are strictly confidential.
1961
The contents of the schedule are strictly confidential.
1966
The information you give on the form will be treated as confidential and used only for compiling statistics. No information about named individuals will be passed by the Census Office to any other Government Department or any other authority. If anyone employed on the census improperly discloses information you provide, he will be liable to prosecution. 392W Where information is supplied to you—for example by a visitor or anyone not belonging to the family—you must not disclose or use it for any purpose other than filling in this form. (If you do, you will be liable to a fine of up to £10. There is also a penalty of up to £10 for refusing to fill in the form or refusing to give you information to enable you to fill it in, or for giving false information).
1971
The information you give on the form will be treated as Confidential and used only for compiling statistics. No information about named individuals will be passed by the Census Office to any other Government Department or any other authority or person. If anyone employed in taking the census improperly discloses information you provide, he will be liable to prosecution. Similarly you must not disclose information which anyone (for example, a visitor or boarder) gives you to enable you to complete the form.
1981
The form is used only for compiling statistics and when you have completed it in accordance with the instructions it will be treated as Confidential and no information about named individuals will be passed by the Census Office to any other Government Department or any other authority or person. If anyone employed in taking the census improperly discloses information you provide, he will be liable to prosecution. Similarly you must not disclose information which anyone (for example, a visitor or boarder) gives you to enable you to complete the form.
1991
Your answers will be treated in strict confidence and used only to produce statistics. Names and addresses will not be put into the computer; only the postcode will be entered. The forms will be kept securely within my Office and treated as confidential for 100 years.
Anyone using or disclosing Census information improperly will be liable to prosecution. For example, it would be improper for you to pass on to someone else information which you had been given in confidence by a visitor to enable you to complete the Census form.
(b) The interpretation of strict confidentiality as requiring lengthy closure of the census returns was not printed on the census forms themselves before 1991, but is part of the Registrar General's policy agreed in 1974 by the then Secretary of State for Scotland and announced in Parliament (Hansard, Official Report Vol 874, no. 46, Written Answer cols 272–3). This confirmed that Scottish census returns for 1901 or later years would not be made available until 100 years after the census to which they relate, and that only in exceptional circumstances could closed census returns be accessed. These public access provisions were affirmed by the present Government in the White Paper "The 2001 Census of Population" (Cm. 4253), published on 4 March 1999. The closure period is intended to safeguard the confidentiality of the personal information collected in the census, and successive Governments have honoured 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.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.