Notes (not verbatim) of a meeting to discuss and clarify matters relating to the
reclosure of records subsequent to complex questions being asked at previous
User Forum meetings.
Meeting date: 31 January 2013
Location: The National Archives
Attendees (staff):
Stuart Abraham (SA) – Freedom of Information Centre Manager
James Lawson (JL) – Customer Intelligence Manager (note-taker)
Attendees (users):
Graham Woolgar (GW)
Richard Bateson (RB)
1) Q. Reading from a prepared statement, the chairman of the November 2012 User
Forum confirmed that although section 5(3) of the Public Records Act does not mention
reclosure per se, this is the basis for reclosure of archived records.
To what precise section of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, or relevant Statutory
Instrument, does this refer?
A. In 2005, section 5(3) of the Public Records Act was amended to read:
“It shall be the duty of the Keeper of Public Records to arrange that reasonable facilities
are available to the public for inspecting and obtaining copies of those public records in
the Public Record Office which fall to be disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000”.
The significant phrase is emphasised in italics. Since 2005, the disclosure of public
records under the Public Records Act is subject to the Freedom of Information Act,
which includes a number of exemptions. Prior to 2005, access to public records was via
the Public Records Act. More detail can be found at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/public-recordssystem.htm
Exemptions are reasons why a particular piece of information should not be made
available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act. There are approximately
20 exemptions. If a particular piece of information is covered by one of these it does not
fall to be disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and can therefore
remain closed or, in the case of open records, be reclosed if the exemption is deemed
to be applicable despite the previous availability of the information1.
1
For a full list of exemptions see Part II of the Freedom of Information Act:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/part/II#
Further detail about the current public records system including access can be found online at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/public-records-system.htm
The National Archives takedown and reclosure policy can be found online here:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/takedown-and-reclosure-policy.pdf
The most commonly applied exemption is S40: Personal information (which refers to the
Data Protection Act). However, information can be kept closed or be reclosed as a
result of any of these exemptions being applied.
The main reason for reclosing particular records has been to protect individuals, or
relatives of individuals who are mentioned within the records, from substantial harm or
distress which could result from their personal information continuing to be made
available and reused. It is important to consider that in the age of the internet it is much
easier to locate personal information by conducting a simple online search. Previously it
would have been necessary to physically visit The National Archives and conduct
extensive and speculative research in order to find the same information. A number of
requests for reclosure have been received from members of the public as a result of
information being found online.
Additional commentary on the answer above provided post-meeting by GW and RB:
SA spoke at length on issues associated with court proceedings, trials, complaints from
relatives, etc. RB felt that this fell mostly within the scope of 'takedown' rather than
applying to the 'reclosure' of 30 plus years old paper documents.
Over two years later, an Advisory Council paper (provided by SA) 'Information in the
public domain and access to historical records at The National Archives', November
2008, stated "Initially there seems no reason for closing information that has been in the
public domain but the Council and departments will be considering what impact
releasing particular information in historical public records might have at time of release
particularly on individuals". Note by SA – this paper can be found here:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/public-domain-paper-publishableversion.pdf
However, on 10/11/2010, just two years later, SA presented a paper on 'reclosure
policy' to the TNA Executive Team.
Management Board involvement
RB&GW said they could find no evidence that reclosure was ever discussed at nonexecutive director level. Post Baroness Lola Young's resignation (September 2010), no
board meetings were held until 31/1/2011. This was the precise period when SA's paper
was being discussed by the Executive Team. Did the Management Board ever approve
this policy? SA was unable to provide an answer to this question.
'Guiding principles' of the takedown and reclosure policy
RB&GW were particularly concerned to be advised by SA that there was no way of
identifying a reclosed record in the catalogue, despite the fact that the takedown and
reclosure policy currently states that “any reclosure will be acknowledged openly in the
catalogue".
SA agreed to investigate altering the text of the policy to ensure that it cannot be read to
imply that reclosure will be explicitly indicated within the catalogue. SA made it clear
that this had never been our intention; if a document is reclosed, its status as „closed‟
will be indicated as with any other closed record.
When records are reclosed, they stay at The National Archives rather than being
returned to the originating government department, the only exception being if the
records were originally transferred in error.
2) Q. Can the User Advisory Group be given details of the composition and terms of
reference of the Reclosure Review Panel? Can we be given the dates on which it has
so far met, together with a list of pieces which have been reclosed or redacted?
A. The Keeper of Public Records has the authority to reclose records and has to meet
his obligations under Data Protection and Freedom of Information. However, to ensure
best practice, the advice of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Council is also sought in
addition to that of the Reclosure Review Panel. This ensures external scrutiny of any
such activity.
The Reclosure Review Panel is composed of members of TNA staff with specialist
expertise in Freedom of Information, Data Protection and the records concerned. The
panel does not have regular meetings as much of its work is conducted in response to
particular issues or questions as they arise.
TNA cannot provide a list of pieces that have been reclosed or redacted as this would
highlight files individuals have complained about and go against the aims of reclosing.
It was agreed that SA would explore publishing the series details and numbers where
reclosure took place so the scope of any such work is more visible to the public.
Additional commentary on the answer above provided post-meeting by GW and RB:
RB&GW felt that the details were opaque. It appears that no minutes of Records
Review Panel meetings are kept. Information on past decisions was not forthcoming,
nor were terms of reference available.
Note
Prior to the meeting , a proposed agenda, six short briefing papers (enclosures 'A' to
'F') and a three page chronology, 'Closure of records already open to the public, 1958 2013' (enclosure 'G') were sent to JL by GW. These enclosures relate to various points
discussed at the meeting. These enclosures are not included in the published notes of
the meeting.