§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what public records concerning(a) the Royal Family and (b) other matters, relating to events prior to the First World War, have not been made publicly available; and for what reasons. [130687]
159W
§ Mr. LockThere are two public records concerning the Royal Family dating from before the First World War which have not been opened. These are both Treasury records. The first concerns the taxation and property rating of members of the Royal Family for the period 1899–1904 and is due for release in 2005; the second concerns Queen Alexandra's annuity and income tax in the period 1910–1914 and is due to be opened in 2015. (They are closed in accordance with Lord Chancellor's Instruments 5 and 6 respectively.) The guidance under which these records were closed for 100 years is currently being re-examined by the Cabinet Office and Public Record Office.
Records concerning other matters dating from before the First World War and not yet opened are as follows:
The decennial censuses of 1901 and 1911 are closed for 100 years in order to protect the confidentiality of the information given by the public. They are closed in accordance with Lord Chancellor's Instrument 12. There are approximately 65 items originating from the predecessors of the Crown Estate dating from 1900–1914 which are still closed. These concern leases or other property assignments which are still current. There are three records dating from 1876–1914 concerning activities of the Secret Service in Ireland and Irish terrorist organisations which are currently retained. The sensitivity of these records is currently being reassessed.