§ Mr. CarmichaelTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to his Answer of 10 December,Official Report, column 457W, on the Census (1911), what powers the Lord Chancellor has under the Public Records Act 1958 to release details from the 1911 census before 2011; and what conditions concerning confidentiality were agreed to by those who participated in this census. [144889]
§ Mr. LeslieSection 5(1) of the 1958 Public Records Act provided for the general release of records after 50 years, and this was reduced in 1967 to 30 years. This section of the Public Records Act gives the Lord Chancellor the power to vary the normal closure period in relation to specific classes of records with the approval, or at the request, of the relevant minister.
In 1966 the Lord Chancellor approved Instrument No.12, which sanctioned the closure of Decennial records for 100 years on the grounds that the information supplied by householders was given in strict confidence. The Open Government White paper (Cm 2290) of July 1993 recommended the retention of the 100 year closure period.
The conditions quoted on the 1911 Census Householder's Schedule give the following assurance of confidentiality: "The contents of the Schedule will be treated as confidential. Strict care will be taken that no information is disclosed with regard to individual persons. The returns are not to be used for proof of age, as in connection with Old Age Pensions, or for any other purpose than the preparation of Statistical Tables".