Request
During each of the years listed below did the National Archives close any files which were previously open to the public at the National Archives in Kew. Please note that I am only interested in those files which mention and or relate to the Royal Family (and or individual members of the Royal Family) and whose closure has been justified by reliance on Section 37 of the FOIA Act.
2021
2022
2023
2024 (the year so far).
Outcome
Information withheld.
Response
The National Archives holds information relevant to your request.
We are unable to provide you with information you have requested because it is covered by exemptions at section 21 and 22 of the FOI Act.
Section 21 exempts information if it is reasonably accessible to the applicant by other means.
Section 22 exempts information intended for future publication.
For further information about why these exemptions have been applied, and the Public Interest Test, please see the explanatory annex at the end of this letter.
At the time your request was received, The National Archives already had an intention to publish information on records reclosed in 2024. This information will cover records reclosed after consideration by a reclosure panel, as outlined in The National Archives’ reclosure policy, and will include data on specific FOI exemptions engaged for the reclosure of records. This information is therefore exempt under section 22 of the FOI Act.
Please note that The National Archives has already published information on records reclosed via our reclosure policy in the years 2021-23. This information is exempt under section 21 of the FOI Act, as it can be downloaded here: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/transparency/reclosure-panel/
This published data includes the number of instances in which particular FOI exemptions were engaged. For your convenience, we can confirm that during 2021-23 there were no instances of records being reclosed under section 37 after consideration by the reclosure panel.
Please note that, aside from review by the reclosure panel, the other way in which it is possible for records to be reclosed involves government departments submitting closure applications directly for the closure of records. This method is relatively uncommon. Requests of this nature will be the same as any standard closure application submitted by departments to our Access Team for the closure of records. These closure applications will then be sent to the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives (ACNRA) on a schedule for consideration.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the applications on these schedules, which do not reference the current access status of the records therein, we’re unable to determine whether these closure applications refer to open records, open records with an ‘Access Under Review’ status (where access to the record is temporarily suspended, pending a sensitivity review), or closed records (in which case the closure applications amend the FOI exemptions engaged and/or the closure periods of these records). It is not possible to ascertain this without cross-checking every record on the schedules, which would not be feasible within the cost-limit for handling FOI requests. In order to avoid the refusal of your request in its entirety, we have therefore interpreted your request to refer specifically to records reclosed under the aforementioned reclosure policy.
Exemptions applied
Section 21: Information readily available to the applicant by other means
Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) does not oblige a public authority to provide information if it is already reasonably accessible by other means.
In this case the exemption applies because relevant information on records reclosed under our reclosure policy is already available on our website, and details of record titles are available on our online catalogue.
Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found at: https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1203/information-reasonably-accessible-to-the-applicant-by-other-means-sec21.pdf
Section 22: Information intended for future publication
Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) exempts from release information intended for future publication if (a) the information is held by the public authority with a view to its publication, by the authority or any other person, at some future date (whether determined or not), (b) the information was already held with a view to such publication at the time when the request for information was made, and (c) it is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information should be withheld from disclosure until the date referred to in paragraph (a).
Section 22 is a qualified exemption and requires a Public Interest Test to assess where the balance of the public interest lies.
Arguments in favour of disclosure:
Disclosure of the requested information would demonstrate The National Archives’ commitment to being a transparent and accountable organisation and would increase public awareness of the practices under the Reclosure policy at The National Archives.
Disclosure of the requested information would allow for greater transparency around the number of records being reclosed under a particular exemption.
Releasing information at the current time would allow for contemporary discussion on TNA’s reclosure policy and would consequently enable and enrich public debate.
Arguments against disclosure:
Time is required for the information to be gathered and properly verified before being placed in the public domain. Producing statistics on records reclosed via the reclosure panel for the duration of a whole year is a complex and time-consuming process, and it is necessary that this information is collected in a way that is not rushed and liable to lead to the production of errors in the data.
Publication of the data concerning reclosure of records in 2024 is intended for publication in the first quarter of 2025. This will be a complete set of data for the whole year. Publication now would not align with current plans to make this information available and would result in incomplete data being made available. It is not practical to accelerate the disclosure of this information. Collation of this information now would also place a burden on officials, unfairly diverting resource away from the handling of other FOI requests.
It is also in the public interest to ensure that the information is available to all members of the public at the same time. Premature publication would likely undermine the principle of making the information available to all at the same time through the official publication process.
On this occasion, we have concluded that the balance of the Public Interest Test falls in favour of withholding this information.
Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found at:
https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1172/information-intended-for-future-publication-and-research-information-sections-22-and-22a-foi.pdf