Request
Does the National Archives have any internal record about the Clerk to the Commons Commissioners from 1965 to 2010 (for instance in its File Registry) and any correspondence about its abolition and the preservation of its records?
Outcome
Some information provided.
Response
Paper Registry records pre-2000 have already been processed under the Public Records Act and selected files have been transferred to The National Archives. These records are available via Discovery
The list of 2000 – 2003 Paper Registry records which are currently being processed at The National Archives has been checked; no paper records in this list are recorded with ‘Commons’ in their title.
Internal records and correspondence held by The National Archives have been attached to this response. An index to this information has been attached for your reference. Some information has also been redacted as it is out of scope of your request.
Explanatory Annex
Exemptions applied:
Section 40(2): Personal Information where the applicant is not the data subject
Section 40 exempts personal information about a ‘third party’ (someone other than the requester), if revealing it would breach the terms of Data Protection Legislation. Data Protection Legislation prevents personal information from release if it would be unfair or at odds with the reason why it was collected, or where the subject had officially served notice that releasing it would cause them damage or distress. Personal information must be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner as set out by Art. 5 of the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
In this case the exemption applies because the requested material contains information which would identify junior members of staff.
Publishing the names and contact details of junior members of staff is considered an unfair use of personal data. Junior members of staff would have no expectation that information about their positions would be made available in the public domain; to do so would be unfair and contravene the first data protection principle of the Data Protection Act. As such, the names, positions and contact details of junior officials are withheld under section 40 (2) of the FOI Act.
Further guidance about the publication of junior staff names can be found here:
https://ico.org.uk/media/fororganisations/documents/1187/section_40_requests_for_personal_data_about_employees.pdf