§ Mr. MullinTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis the 1911 Census returns remain confidential; and if he will make a statement. [36599]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Chris Mullin dated 14 February 2002:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking on what basis the 1911 Census returns remain confidential. (36599).The 1911 Census records are subject to the Public Records Act 1958 (Instrument No 12 dated 1966), and are closed to the public for a period of 100 years. The Lord Chancellor in conjunction with the Minister of Health, who at that time was responsible for the Census, prescribed the closure period. At the time of the 1911 Census, assurance was given that the contents of the Schedule would be treated as strictly confidential.Under the Public Records Act, there is provision for a record held by the Public Record Office to be inspected if special authority is given by the department responsible for the record. In 1993 it was announced in Parliament that the Registrar General would be willing to consider particular applications for information to be extracted from the 1911 returns if it would enable the applicant to establish a legal entitlement such as an inheritance. A concession announced in 1993 which does allow the release of information from the 1911 Census, is conditional upon the applicant requiring the information solely in order to establish a legal entitlement and would only be considered where the information could not be obtained from any other source.