Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether plans have been made to continue the Official History programme.

I refer the Noble Lord to the reply given by Lord Gardiner of Kimble during a QSD on Official Histories on 10 December 2015.

Following the recent publication of the Official History of the Cabinet Secretaries by Ian Beesley, the Government is now working towards the publication of several more previously-announced volumes, including the second volume of the Official History of the Civil Service, further volumes of the Official Histories of the UK’s relationship with the European Union, the Joint Intelligence Committee and the nuclear deterrent, and the first volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System in the near future.

As well as official histories, the Cabinet Office have also recently worked with Sir Anthony Seldon on a history of the Cabinet Office, published on the occasion of the department's centenary in December. In addition to this, the acclaimed online government history project continues with regular updates at https://www.gov.uk/government/history.