The National Archives and the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council on National Records and Archives in the Freedom of Information Era

Abstract

The implementation of the UK Freedom of Information Act enhanced the transparency of the public records system because it changed how information held at The National Archives became available to the public. With the advent of the Act, the previously applied 30-year standard closure period no longer determined access to records; instead, information is now assumed to be ‘open’ right from the start unless one of the exemptions set out in the Freedom of Information Act applies. The aim of this paper is twofold: first, to describe the operational impact the Act has had on The National Archives; and second, to examine the way in which the Act has changed the role of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council on National Records and Archives within the context of performing a ‘checks and balances’ function in the public records system.