§ Mr. John TaylorTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on Government policy relating to publication of census information, with special reference to information contained in the website at http://learningcurve.pro.gov.uk/ FocusOn/census/what is/intro.htm printed on the census forms for England and Wales; and what action the Public Record Office has taken to amend the information published on its website. [51181]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe specific reference is to the PRO's Learning Curve website, which is an on—line teaching resource, structured to tie in with the History National Curriculum from Key Stages 2 to 5. Its investigation "Focus On…The Census" is intended to encourage schools to consult census material. At one point it states "To encourage people to provide the correct details, the Government has always guaranteed that any personal information will not be made available to the public for 100 years."
This statement compresses into a single sentence the various assurances which Governments have provided about the confidentiality of census returns at different times. Early census schedules assured individuals that the information collected from them would be published in "General Abstract only" and would not be used for "the gratification of curiosity". Although the precise wording has differed for each census, all assurances given on the forms have been to the effect that information would be kept confidential. In 1966, under Section 5(1) of the Public Records Act, the Lord Chancellor signed Instrument 12 which closed the decennial censuses for 100 years.
The PRO has now amended the wording on the Learning Curve website in order to increase its clarity.