Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to encourage government departments to meet their targets and legal obligations relating to the release of records to the National Archives.

Departments must comply with the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958 and the Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on Records Management, issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Government departments are currently in transition from the 30-year rule for transferring records to The National Archives to a 20-year rule, over a ten year period. The National Archives works closely with departments to help them meet their targets for transferring records through published statistics and capability assessments.

On 6 November a report by the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Alex Allan, was published. It contains a number of recommendations relating to how Government should manage its records. We have accepted these recommendations in full. The Ministry of Justice will continue to support The National Archives’ work with departments to facilitate Information Management Assessments and to encourage continued diligence in taking these recommendations forward.