To ask the Chancellor of the exchequer what action was taken by Ministers in his Department to establish that the Registrar General had statutory authority to state that personal information from the 1981 and 1991 decennial population censuses for England and Wales would be retained in his Department for 100 years before being released.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Taylor, dated 14 March 2005

As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what action was taken by Ministers to establish that the Registrar General had statutory authority to state that personal information from the 1981 and 1991 decennial population censuses for England and Wales would be retained for 100 years before being released. (221179)

A Registrar General is empowered to conduct a census under the provisions of the Census Act 1920 as amended by the Census (Confidentiality) Act 1991. The protection of personal information is covered by Section 8(2), which makes provisions with respect to unlawful disclosure of information. Censuses from 1921 onwards have been taken under this Act and, as records which are retained in my custody, remain covered by these provisions. The necessary permission to retain these census records once they are over 30 years old has been granted by the Lord Chancellor under the provisions of Section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958, and has continued to be granted at periodic intervals.

Particularly at the time of a census there is great public concern about confidentiality and the use to which personal census information is put, and it has been the practice to give strong declarations of strict confidentiality including on the front of the census form, to allay these concerns. At the time of the 1981 and the 1991 Censuses, there was legislation in force that closed Census records for a period of 100 years. This legislation was Instrument 12 dated 1966 made under the provision of Section 5(1) of the Public Records Act 1958. The declarations however, did not specifically make reference to this legislation.

In an attempt to simplify the confidentiality message on the front of the 1981 and the 1991 Census forms, the assurances, as worded, stated that the Registrar General had authority himself to retain the records for 100 years. This pledge asserts authority that the Registrar General does not have. As explained above the authority for the Registrar General to retain Census records rests with the Lord Chancellor. Notwithstanding this, the legal basis of access to, and confidentiality of, Census records was not affected. Assurances given on the 2001 Census form, however, more accurately referred to the relevant statutory authority as existed at the time.