Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, who was responsible for (1) drafting, and (2) approving, The National Archives’ Re-closure Policy implemented as a result of sections 45 and 46 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010; and whether any consultation with external stakeholders took place.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Archives’ reclosure policy was first drafted by officials in The National Archives and approved by directors and the then Chief Executive and Keeper of Public Records in 2010. Following its inception, the reclosure policy has been kept under continuous review and amended several times, most notably in 2018 due to changes in data protection legislation.
The National Archives’ Reclosure Panel provides internal expert scrutiny of the application of The National Archives’ reclosure policy. The Reclosure Panel is composed of members of staff with expertise in Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection, along with records and catalogue specialists from across The National Archives. The Panel is chaired by the Director for Public Records Access and Government Services. On behalf of the Secretary of State, the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives provides external scrutiny of the Reclosure Panel’s decisions where qualified exemptions under the FOI Act 2000 are applied.
The legal provisions underpinning public access to records held by The National Archives are section 5 of the Public Records Act 1958 and section 1 of the FOI Act 2000 (subject to any relevant exemptions stated elsewhere in the FOI Act).
Under section 2(4) of the Public Records Act 1958, ‘the Keeper of Public Records shall have power to do all such things as appear to him necessary or expedient for maintaining the utility of the Public Record Office.’ When The National Archives are made aware that information in a record may fall within a relevant exemption under the FOI Act or the UKGDPR, the record is temporarily withdrawn from public access so that an assessment may take place.
Whilst this assessment is taking place and subsequently, the statutory right of access to information under the FOI regime of any requestor is not affected. Therefore, an FOI request can still be made for any record that has an ‘Access Under Review’ status on The National Archives’ catalogue, Discovery. Reclosure decisions by The National Archives under the FOI Act are subject to review by the Information Commissioner and, ultimately, the courts.
Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times The National Archives’ Re-closure Policy has been reviewed since its inception; and by whom.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Archives’ reclosure policy was first drafted by officials in The National Archives and approved by directors and the then Chief Executive and Keeper of Public Records in 2010. Following its inception, the reclosure policy has been kept under continuous review and amended several times, most notably in 2018 due to changes in data protection legislation.
The National Archives’ Reclosure Panel provides internal expert scrutiny of the application of The National Archives’ reclosure policy. The Reclosure Panel is composed of members of staff with expertise in Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection, along with records and catalogue specialists from across The National Archives. The Panel is chaired by the Director for Public Records Access and Government Services. On behalf of the Secretary of State, the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives provides external scrutiny of the Reclosure Panel’s decisions where qualified exemptions under the FOI Act 2000 are applied.
The legal provisions underpinning public access to records held by The National Archives are section 5 of the Public Records Act 1958 and section 1 of the FOI Act 2000 (subject to any relevant exemptions stated elsewhere in the FOI Act).
Under section 2(4) of the Public Records Act 1958, ‘the Keeper of Public Records shall have power to do all such things as appear to him necessary or expedient for maintaining the utility of the Public Record Office.’ When The National Archives are made aware that information in a record may fall within a relevant exemption under the FOI Act or the UKGDPR, the record is temporarily withdrawn from public access so that an assessment may take place.
Whilst this assessment is taking place and subsequently, the statutory right of access to information under the FOI regime of any requestor is not affected. Therefore, an FOI request can still be made for any record that has an ‘Access Under Review’ status on The National Archives’ catalogue, Discovery. Reclosure decisions by The National Archives under the FOI Act are subject to review by the Information Commissioner and, ultimately, the courts.
Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the legal basis for those provisions within The National Archives’ Re-closure Policy that allow for the retrospective application of exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to justify the re-closure of records that were previously open.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Archives’ reclosure policy was first drafted by officials in The National Archives and approved by directors and the then Chief Executive and Keeper of Public Records in 2010. Following its inception, the reclosure policy has been kept under continuous review and amended several times, most notably in 2018 due to changes in data protection legislation.
The National Archives’ Reclosure Panel provides internal expert scrutiny of the application of The National Archives’ reclosure policy. The Reclosure Panel is composed of members of staff with expertise in Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection, along with records and catalogue specialists from across The National Archives. The Panel is chaired by the Director for Public Records Access and Government Services. On behalf of the Secretary of State, the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives provides external scrutiny of the Reclosure Panel’s decisions where qualified exemptions under the FOI Act 2000 are applied.
The legal provisions underpinning public access to records held by The National Archives are section 5 of the Public Records Act 1958 and section 1 of the FOI Act 2000 (subject to any relevant exemptions stated elsewhere in the FOI Act).
Under section 2(4) of the Public Records Act 1958, ‘the Keeper of Public Records shall have power to do all such things as appear to him necessary or expedient for maintaining the utility of the Public Record Office.’ When The National Archives are made aware that information in a record may fall within a relevant exemption under the FOI Act or the UKGDPR, the record is temporarily withdrawn from public access so that an assessment may take place.
Whilst this assessment is taking place and subsequently, the statutory right of access to information under the FOI regime of any requestor is not affected. Therefore, an FOI request can still be made for any record that has an ‘Access Under Review’ status on The National Archives’ catalogue, Discovery. Reclosure decisions by The National Archives under the FOI Act are subject to review by the Information Commissioner and, ultimately, the courts.
Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what processes are in place to ensure effective scrutiny of the operation of The National Archives Re-closure Policy.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Archives’ reclosure policy was first drafted by officials in The National Archives and approved by directors and the then Chief Executive and Keeper of Public Records in 2010. Following its inception, the reclosure policy has been kept under continuous review and amended several times, most notably in 2018 due to changes in data protection legislation.
The National Archives’ Reclosure Panel provides internal expert scrutiny of the application of The National Archives’ reclosure policy. The Reclosure Panel is composed of members of staff with expertise in Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection, along with records and catalogue specialists from across The National Archives. The Panel is chaired by the Director for Public Records Access and Government Services. On behalf of the Secretary of State, the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives provides external scrutiny of the Reclosure Panel’s decisions where qualified exemptions under the FOI Act 2000 are applied.
The legal provisions underpinning public access to records held by The National Archives are section 5 of the Public Records Act 1958 and section 1 of the FOI Act 2000 (subject to any relevant exemptions stated elsewhere in the FOI Act).
Under section 2(4) of the Public Records Act 1958, ‘the Keeper of Public Records shall have power to do all such things as appear to him necessary or expedient for maintaining the utility of the Public Record Office.’ When The National Archives are made aware that information in a record may fall within a relevant exemption under the FOI Act or the UKGDPR, the record is temporarily withdrawn from public access so that an assessment may take place.
Whilst this assessment is taking place and subsequently, the statutory right of access to information under the FOI regime of any requestor is not affected. Therefore, an FOI request can still be made for any record that has an ‘Access Under Review’ status on The National Archives’ catalogue, Discovery. Reclosure decisions by The National Archives under the FOI Act are subject to review by the Information Commissioner and, ultimately, the courts.
Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the legal basis for those provisions within The National Archives Re-closure Policy that allow for the withdrawal of public access to open records on demand without The National Archives having established any of the exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are engaged.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Archives’ reclosure policy was first drafted by officials in The National Archives and approved by directors and the then Chief Executive and Keeper of Public Records in 2010. Following its inception, the reclosure policy has been kept under continuous review and amended several times, most notably in 2018 due to changes in data protection legislation.
The National Archives’ Reclosure Panel provides internal expert scrutiny of the application of The National Archives’ reclosure policy. The Reclosure Panel is composed of members of staff with expertise in Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection, along with records and catalogue specialists from across The National Archives. The Panel is chaired by the Director for Public Records Access and Government Services. On behalf of the Secretary of State, the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives provides external scrutiny of the Reclosure Panel’s decisions where qualified exemptions under the FOI Act 2000 are applied.
The legal provisions underpinning public access to records held by The National Archives are section 5 of the Public Records Act 1958 and section 1 of the FOI Act 2000 (subject to any relevant exemptions stated elsewhere in the FOI Act).
Under section 2(4) of the Public Records Act 1958, ‘the Keeper of Public Records shall have power to do all such things as appear to him necessary or expedient for maintaining the utility of the Public Record Office.’ When The National Archives are made aware that information in a record may fall within a relevant exemption under the FOI Act or the UKGDPR, the record is temporarily withdrawn from public access so that an assessment may take place.
Whilst this assessment is taking place and subsequently, the statutory right of access to information under the FOI regime of any requestor is not affected. Therefore, an FOI request can still be made for any record that has an ‘Access Under Review’ status on The National Archives’ catalogue, Discovery. Reclosure decisions by The National Archives under the FOI Act are subject to review by the Information Commissioner and, ultimately, the courts.
Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what use, if any, has been made of the power in section 66 of the Immigration Act 2014 to deprive naturalised citizens of their British citizenship even when the consequence is to render them stateless; and what assessment they have made of the utility of that power.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The power to deprive an individual of British citizenship under section 40(4A) of the British Nationality Act 1981 has not been used since its introduction in July 2014. Following the first statutory review of the power, which was published in April 2016, a further review will be undertaken within 12 months of the power first being used.
Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Professor Philippa Webb’s report prepared for the European Parliamentary Research Service, Legal options for confiscation of Russian state assets to support the reconstruction of Ukraine, published in February 2024.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK, alongside the G7, has underscored that Russia must pay for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. The Government is fully committed to working alongside partners to pursue all lawful routes through which immobilised Russian sovereign assets can be used to support Ukraine. In their 24 February statement, G7 Leaders tasked relevant ministries to continue their work to that end and report back ahead of the G7 Summit in June. The Government will keep the House updated on significant developments as appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what rules, guidance or conventions they consider to be applicable to the provision of professional legal services, including advocacy, legal representation and the giving of legal advice, by retired UK judges.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
There is a longstanding convention that prohibits former holders of salaried judicial office from returning to private legal practice. This is reflected in the terms and conditions of service which apply on appointment to judicial office, which state that candidates accept appointment on the understanding that it is “intended for the remainder of a person’s professional life” and that “following termination of their appointment they will not return to private practice as a barrister or a solicitor".
The Government has noted the report, “Work in Judicial Retirement”, which relates to judges in the High Court and above and the longstanding convention prohibiting salaried judges from returning to legal practice. The Government has also noted the evidence of Lord Burnett, the then Lord Chief Justice, to the Justice Select Committee in 2018, that the convention “is part and parcel of ensuring, and always has been, that the standing of our judiciary is very high indeed.”
Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the policy report by Patrick O’Brien and Ben Yong, Work in Judicial Retirement, published in June.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
There is a longstanding convention that prohibits former holders of salaried judicial office from returning to private legal practice. This is reflected in the terms and conditions of service which apply on appointment to judicial office, which state that candidates accept appointment on the understanding that it is “intended for the remainder of a person’s professional life” and that “following termination of their appointment they will not return to private practice as a barrister or a solicitor".
The Government has noted the report, “Work in Judicial Retirement”, which relates to judges in the High Court and above and the longstanding convention prohibiting salaried judges from returning to legal practice. The Government has also noted the evidence of Lord Burnett, the then Lord Chief Justice, to the Justice Select Committee in 2018, that the convention “is part and parcel of ensuring, and always has been, that the standing of our judiciary is very high indeed.”
Asked by: Lord Anderson of Ipswich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish their response to Sir Duncan Ouseley’s independent report on the operation of the closed material procedure under the Justice and Security Act 2013, which was carried out pursuant to section 13 of the Act and laid before Parliament in November 2022.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Government is carefully considering the recommendations made by Sir Duncan Ouseley in his Independent Report on the Operation of Closed Material Procedures under the Justice and Security Act 2013 and is working to establish how any recommendations that we take forward could be sustainably and effectively implemented. Subject to this detailed ongoing work, the Government aims to publish its response to Sir Duncan’s report by early 2024.