§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on 631W progress made since March 1999 on allowing access to documents over 30 years old to which s.3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958 applies. [119835]
§ Mr. LockIt is now normal procedure, when government departments and agencies make applications for the Lord Chancellor's permission to retain records over 30 years old, for officers of the Public Record Office to encourage them to allow public access. Such applications are further scrutinised by the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council on Public Records. The Advisory Council may request access for the public as a condition of an application proceeding to receive the Lord Chancellor's approval.
As a result, the public will be granted access to the great majority of the records retained under s.3(4) since March 1999. The commonest reason for access to be refused is that the retained records remain sensitive. In such cases access would undermine the reason for retention.