§ Mrs. EllmanTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how he defines the term public interest in relation to the early release of royal records. [145755]
§ Mr. LockUnder current access criteria, there is no public interest test. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, there will be a public interest test. That test will be the same for royal records as for any other records.
§ Mrs. EllmanTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what discretion the Lord Chancellor has in deciding whether to release royal records relating to King Edward VIII. [145756]
§ Mr. LockThe criteria in relation to the release of public records are set out in Annex C to the Open Government White paper (July 1993). The guiding principle is that all records not retained in Departments should he released after 30 years unless it is possible to establish that actual damage would be caused by release and that the damage would fall within the three criteria set out in that Annex. The Lord Chancellor has discretion on the interpretation of these criteria which he exercises in the light of advice from his Advisory Council on Public Records.
§ Mrs. EllmanTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what criteria will be used to determine the release of the records relating to King Edward VIII. [145757]
§ Mr. LockThe criteria governing closure of public records including those relating to King Edward VIII are set out in Annex C to the Open Government White Paper (July 1993).
Guidance on the length of time that royal records remain closed to the public is under review in the light of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.