Ministry of Defence: Public Records
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) oversight, (b) involvement, (c) responsibility and (d) accountability he has have for decisions relating to the closure of documents to the public for any period of time.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones
In accordance with the statutory Code of Practice on the management of records, Ministry of Defence (MOD) Ministers have the authority to make a final decision on the closure (and continued closure) of records. However day-to-day management of Defence records (including the application of closure periods) is delegated to authorised MOD officials operating under the authority of the Departmental Records Officer, who ensures Departmental compliance with its statutory obligations under the Public Records Act 1958. Decisions on the closure of documents take into account sensitivities such as national security, personal data, and operational considerations.
For personal information and information linked to identifiable living individuals, the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives advocate a closure period of the ‘lifetime’ of the data subject. This assumes a lifetime of 100 years but will be graduated from the age or assumed age of the youngest individual in the record.
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