Written question asked by Gerald Kaufman (Labour) on Monday, 5 June 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 7 June 2006. It was answered by Baroness Harman (Labour) on Wednesday, 14 June 2006 on behalf of the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

FOI Requests

Question: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the disclosure of personal information from the 1911 census have been received by the National Archives since 29 January 2006; and what the outcome was in cases where the applicants provided documentary evidence that all the 1911 residents of a specific property were no longer alive.

Answer: The National Archives has received 42 requests to access information contained in the 1911 census returns in the period between 29 January and 17 May 2006. All of these requests, including one where the inquirer provided evidence that all persons believed to be resident at a particular address in 1911 are now deceased, were denied on the grounds that the s.41 exemption of the Freedom of Information Act—relating to information provided in confidence—applies. These decisions were taken in the context of the Government’s policy that decennial census returns should be closed for 100 years.

Secondary information