Government reveals plans to make "vast majority" of public records available after 20 years

The government this week unveiled plans to make public records available automatically ten years earlier than is currently the case.

Under the proposed rules, which will be implemented through changes to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill currently before the House of Commons, the vast majority of government information will be released to the National Archives after 20 years rather than 30.

Most exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act will be brought into line with this new approach, which is a response to an independent review chaired by Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre. However, this is with the exception of exemptions relating to information where release before 30 years could harm the UK’s internal relations between the devolved administrations, and commercially sensitive information.

The changes will apply to all public bodies subject to the Public Records Act and FOIA.

Justice minister Michael Wills said: “This decision will result in increased transparency and accountability in government, by allowing the public to access and scrutinise important historical documents much earlier than at present. It’s a significant step forward in providing access to information held by public authorities.

“Reducing the 30-year rule to 20 years in this way will help to reinforce public trust in government decision-making and strengthen our democracy, while still protecting the essential constitutional relationships that underpin our system of governance.”

The changes are likely to be implemented over a ten-year period once the legislation comes into force, to allow for the transfer of two million paper files to the National Archives.