HC Deb 19 July 2000 vol 354 cc215-6W
Mr. John M. Taylor

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 16 May 2000,Official Report, column 114W, about public records, if he will list the correspondence between Mr. Denis McCready and the Chairman or Secretary of the Advisory Council on Public Records during the period from 18 June 1997 to March 2000; and if he will publish the correspondence dated 14 and 17 June 1997. [130929]

Mr. Lock

There was no direct correspondence between Mr. Denis McCready and the Chairman or Secretary of the Advisory Council on Public Records during the period from 18 June 1997 to 31 March 2000. The correspondence dated 14 and 17 June was summarised in the answer given by my predecessor on 8 July 1999,Official Report, column 622W. It would not be appropriate to publish the correspondence in full as the letters were between the Advisory Council and a private citizen.

Mr. John M. Taylor

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action the Lord Chancellor will need to take in the next decade, under the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958, to release the Registrar General from his statutory duty to transfer the 1921 to 1971 census returns to the Public Record Office; and in which years that action will need to be taken. [130930]

Mr. Lock

Census returns are subject to 100 year closure, in line with section 1(3) of the Census Confidentiality Act 1991 and with the Government policy set out in the White Paper "Open Government" (Cm 2290, 1993). This is on the grounds that they consist of documents supplied in confidence, the disclosure of which would constitute a breach of good faith.

At present the census returns for 1921 to 1961 are retained by the Office for National Statistics under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958. The following Lord Chancellor's Instruments (LCI) are current: LCI (Retention of Public Records) No 23, 1992: retention of 1961 returns for 10 years (which gives authority for retention until 2003) LCI (Retention of Public Records) No 38, 1996: retention of 1921 and 1951 returns for 10 years (which gives authority for retention until 2007).

The 1971 returns are not yet 30 years old and are therefore not due for transfer to the Public Record Office. In the next decade I would expect the Office for National Statistics to apply for further retention of these records under the Public Records Act 1958.

The Registrar General remains subject to the Public Records Act 1958 and under that legislation will continue to transfer census returns to the Public Record Office at the appropriate time.