Freedom of Information Bill - continued        House of Commons

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  PART VI
  HISTORICAL RECORDS AND RECORDS IN PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE OR PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE OF NORTHERN IRELAND
Interpretation of Part VI.     61. - (1) For the purposes of this Part, a record becomes a "historical record" at the end of the period of thirty years beginning with the year following that in which it was created.
 
      (2) Where records created at different dates are for administrative purposes kept together in one file or other assembly, all the records in that file or other assembly are to be treated for the purposes of this Part as having been created when the latest of those records was created.
 
      (3) In this Part "year" means a calendar year.
 
Removal of exemptions: historical records generally.     62. - (1) Information contained in a historical record cannot be exempt information by virtue of section 26, 28(1), 30, 31, 33, 34, 35(1)(a), 40 or 41.
 
      (2) Compliance with section 1(1)(a) in relation to a historical record is not to be taken to be capable of having any of the effects referred to in section 26(3), 31(3), 34(3), 40(2) or 41(3).
 
      (3) Information cannot be exempt information by virtue of section 35(1)(b) after the end of the period of seventy-five years beginning with the year following that in which the record containing the information was created.
 
      (4) Information cannot be exempt information by virtue of section 29 after the end of the period of one hundred years beginning with the year following that in which the record containing the information was created.
 
      (5) Compliance with section 1(1)(a) in relation to any record is not to be taken, at any time after the end of the period of one hundred years beginning with the year following that in which the record was created, to be capable of prejudicing any of the matters referred to in section 29(1).
 
Removal of exemptions: historical records in public record offices.     63. - (1) Information contained in a historical record in the Public Record Office or the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland cannot be exempt information by virtue of section 19 or 20.
 
      (2) In relation to any information falling within section 21(1) which is contained in a historical record in the Public Record Office or the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, section 13(2) shall have effect with the omission of the reference to section 21.
 
Decisions as to refusal of discretionary disclosure of historical records.     64. Before any public authority decides under section 13 to refuse a request for any information contained in a historical record, the authority shall-
 
 
    (a) if the historical record is a public record within the meaning of the Public Records Act 1958, consult the Lord Chancellor, or
 
    (b) if the historical record is a public record to which the Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923 applies, consult the Northern Ireland Minister responsible for public records in Northern Ireland.
Decisions as to discretionary disclosure of records in public records offices.     65. - (1) The Public Record Office may not, without the consent of the responsible authority, disclose in pursuance of a decision under section 13 any information contained in a public record which has been transferred to the Public Record Office.
 
      (2) In subsection (1)-
 
 
    "public record" has the same meaning as in the Public Records Act 1958;
 
    "the responsible authority" means-
 
      (a) in the case of a record transferred to the Public Record Office from a government department in the charge of a Minister of the Crown, the Minister of the Crown who appears to the Lord Chancellor to be primarily concerned, or
 
      (b) in the case of a record transferred to the Public Record Office from any other public authority, the public authority or other person who appears to the Lord Chancellor to be primarily concerned.
      (3) The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland may not, without the consent of the responsible authority, disclose in pursuance of a decision under section 13 any information contained in a public record which has been transferred to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.
 
      (4) In subsection (3)-
 
 
    "public record" means a public record to which the Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923 applies;
 
    "the responsible authority" means-
 
      (a) in the case of a record transferred to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland from a government department in the charge of a Minister of the Crown, the Minister of the Crown who appears to the Northern Ireland Minister responsible for public records in Northern Ireland to be primarily concerned,
 
      (b) in the case of a record transferred to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland from a Northern Ireland department, the Northern Ireland Minister who appears to the Northern Ireland Minister responsible for public records in Northern Ireland to be primarily concerned, or
 
      (c) in the case of a record transferred to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland from any other public authority, the public authority or other person who appears to the Northern Ireland Minister responsible for public records in Northern Ireland to be primarily concerned.
Amendments of public records legislation.     66. Schedule 5 (which amends the Public Records Act 1958 and the Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923) has effect.
 
 
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