Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what targets have been set for the release of her Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in her Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Home Office targets for review of historical material are those set by the Public Records Acts as amended by the transition period for the reduction of the ’30 year rule’ to a ’20 year rule’ established in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and its enacting secondary legislation. For 2014, the statutory requirement is for records dated 1985 and 1986 to be transferred to The National Archives by the end of the calendar year.

The department reports its progress against the requirements of the transition period to The National Archive on a bi-annual basis, which is then published on The National Archive’s website:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/record-transfer-report.htm.

The last report was made in Spring 2014, the next is due this autumn.

The Home Office has a team of 10 staff engaged in review of its historical records.