Thirty year rule
Encyclopedia
The "thirty year rule" is the popular name given to a law in the United Kingdom
, the Republic of Ireland
, and Australia
that provides that the yearly cabinet papers of a government will be released publicly thirty years after they were created.
, amended in 1967, states that "Public records ....other than those to which members of the public have had access before their transfer ...., shall not be available for public inspection until they have been in existence for [thirty] years or such other period....as the Lord Chancellor may,.... for the time being prescribe as respects any particular class of public records." The rule was essentially two 30 year rules; one requiring that records be transferred from government departments to the Public Record Office (now The National Archives) at 30 years unless specific exemptions were given (by the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council on Public Records), and that they were opened at such time unless they were deemed likely to cause "damage to the country's image, national security or foreign relations" if they were to be released.
This rule was changed by the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(which came into force Jan 1st 2005). The FOI act essentially removed the 2nd of the 30 year rules (the access one), and replaced it with provisions allowing citizens to request a wide range of information before any time limit has expired, and also removing some of the exemptions which had previously applied at the 30 year point. After 30 years, information is transferred to The National Archives, and is reviewed under the FOI act to see if it should be opened. The only rationale for keeping it closed within The National Archives is if an FOI exemption applies.
As a result of this change, releases now happen monthly, rather than annually, and include more recent events, rather than only those over 30 years old.
An independent inquiry chaired by Paul Dacre
, editor of the Daily Mail
, recommended in January 2009 that the last restrictions on the release of information, such as cabinet minutes, should be reduced to a 15-year embargo and phased in over a 15-year period.
In 2009 the Archives Act was amended to reduce closed period from 30 to 20 years, with Cabinet notebooks reduced from 50 to 30 years. Census records remain closed for 99 years to protect the privacy of individuals.
Cabinet papers for a full year are released on 1 January each year.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
that provides that the yearly cabinet papers of a government will be released publicly thirty years after they were created.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the Public Records Act 1958Public Records Act 1958
The Public Records Act 1958 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom forming the main legislation governing public records in the United Kingdom....
, amended in 1967, states that "Public records ....other than those to which members of the public have had access before their transfer ...., shall not be available for public inspection until they have been in existence for [thirty] years or such other period....as the Lord Chancellor may,.... for the time being prescribe as respects any particular class of public records." The rule was essentially two 30 year rules; one requiring that records be transferred from government departments to the Public Record Office (now The National Archives) at 30 years unless specific exemptions were given (by the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council on Public Records), and that they were opened at such time unless they were deemed likely to cause "damage to the country's image, national security or foreign relations" if they were to be released.
This rule was changed by the Freedom of Information Act 2000
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
(which came into force Jan 1st 2005). The FOI act essentially removed the 2nd of the 30 year rules (the access one), and replaced it with provisions allowing citizens to request a wide range of information before any time limit has expired, and also removing some of the exemptions which had previously applied at the 30 year point. After 30 years, information is transferred to The National Archives, and is reviewed under the FOI act to see if it should be opened. The only rationale for keeping it closed within The National Archives is if an FOI exemption applies.
As a result of this change, releases now happen monthly, rather than annually, and include more recent events, rather than only those over 30 years old.
An independent inquiry chaired by Paul Dacre
Paul Dacre
Paul Michael Dacre is a British journalist and current editor of the British newspaper the Daily Mail. He is also editor in chief of the Mail group titles, which also includes The Mail on Sunday. He is also a director of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc and was a member of the Press Complaints...
, editor of the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, recommended in January 2009 that the last restrictions on the release of information, such as cabinet minutes, should be reduced to a 15-year embargo and phased in over a 15-year period.
Australia
In Australia, the 30 year rule applied to Commonwealth (federal) government records, except for Cabinet handbooks (closed for 50 years) and raw census records (closed for 99 years). These periods were set out in the Archives Act 1983.In 2009 the Archives Act was amended to reduce closed period from 30 to 20 years, with Cabinet notebooks reduced from 50 to 30 years. Census records remain closed for 99 years to protect the privacy of individuals.
Cabinet papers for a full year are released on 1 January each year.
See also
- Classified information in the United KingdomClassified information in the United KingdomClassified information in the United Kingdom, now called Protectively Marked Information, is a system used to protect information from intentional or inadvertent release to unauthorised readers. The system is organised by the Cabinet Office and is implemented throughout central and local government...
- Freedom of Information Act 2000Freedom of Information Act 2000The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
- Freedom of information in the United KingdomFreedom of information in the United KingdomFreedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom is controlled by two Acts of the United Kingdom and Scottish Parliaments respectively, which both came into force on 1 January 2005.* Freedom of Information Act 2000...
- Freedom of information legislationFreedom of information legislationFreedom of information legislation comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions...
- RedactionRedactionRedaction is a form of editing in which multiple source texts are combined and subjected to minor alteration to make them into a single work. Often this is a method of collecting a series of writings on a similar theme and creating a definitive and coherent work...
- The National ArchivesThe National Archives (UK)The National Archives is a UK government department and an executive agency of the Secretary of State for Justice. It is "the UK government's official archive, containing 1,000 years of history"...
External links
- 30 Year Rule Review (UK)
- The National Archives (UK)
- Fact sheet 10 – Access to records under the Archives Act, National Archives of Australia