Vol. 440 No. 2
107 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the number of documents withheld from the national archives by his Department since the National Archives Act; the reason documents were withheld; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Since the establishment of this Department in January 1993, no documents have been withheld from the national archives.
108 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the number of documents withheld from the national archives by his Department since the National Archives Act; the reason documents were withheld; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
A large number of files over 30 years old have been deposited by divisions of my Department, and by those divisions when they were part of earlier Departments. It would not be possible to quantify the number of documents certified for withholding from the National Archive without an inordinate amount of staff time and effort.
On a more general note, in accordance with an order made under Section 8 (11) of the National Archives Act, 1986, personnel and pension case files and related records concerning individual civil and public servants are withheld, as well as records of:
1. Applications for Radio Experimenter's licences;
2. Applications for General Certificates of Proficiency in Radiotelephony;
3. Examinations for Certificates of Proficiency in Radiotelephony at various technical colleges;
4. Examinations for Certificates in Marine Radar maintenance at various technical colleges.
