Censuses

HC Deb 25 March 2004 vol 419 cc951-2W

Mr. John Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the financial consequences of reducing the 100-year census closure period for decennial population census records for Scotland. [160428]

Mrs. McGuire

None. Responsibility for such an assessment lies With the Scottish Executive as this is a devolved matter.

The Minister responsible in the Scottish Executive is Cathy Jamieson, Minister for Justice.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the years in which each of the 1851 to 1901 decennial censuses were released for public inspection. [160655]

Mrs. McGuire

The General Register Office for Scotland (GRO(S)), an associated department of the Scottish Executive, is responsible for carrying out periodic censuses of Scotland's population.

The Scottish Census returns for 1841–71 were opened to public inspection in 1923. The returns for 1881 and 1891 were opened to public inspection, though with some restrictions on copying, in 1955. The records for 1901 were opened to public inspection at the end of 2001.