Retention of Records Bill 2019

Public bill · Government · Presented

Keeps the records of the child abuse inquiry and the residential institutions redress bodies, instead of letting them be destroyed when those bodies close. The records would be treated as Department of Education and Skills records, transferred to the National Archives, sealed from public access for at least 75 years, and only released later under rules set by the Minister, with extra care for survivors’ privacy and wellbeing. It matters because it preserves an important historical record while limiting immediate access to sensitive personal information.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to provide for the retention of certain records of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee; for that purpose to deem those records to be records of the Department of Education and Skills and to transfer those records to the National Archives; to amend the National Archives Act 1986, the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act 2000 and the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002; and to provide for related matters.

Last updated 13 February 2020