Freedom of information request
Withheld catalogue descriptions at The National Archives
- Freedom of information request reference
- CAS-234232
- Request resolved
Request
According to the summary of the Reclosure Panel meeting for 18th April 2024, the Panel authorised the reclosure of 63 records relating to historical infanticide trials. I would like the Discovery catalogue references and record titles / descriptions and dates for these records (apart from those with references ASSI 36/61, ASSI 88/9, ASSI 65/47/1, ASSI 65/47/4, CRIM 1/1844 and ASSI 13/600, for which I already have this information).
In the event that any record titles / descriptions have been subject to takedown (or designated Access Under Review), this request should also be treated as a FOIA request relating to these record titles / descriptions.
Outcome
Some information provided.
Response
As the majority of the requested catalogue descriptions of the records are ‘taken down’, we have taken this to be a request for the catalogue descriptions rather than a request for a list of records presented to the Reclosure Panel, as this information is available via the published figures.
Please find attached the list of records relating to infanticide presented to the Reclosure Panel in April 2024 (excluding the 6 records you listed in your request), where we are now able to disclose the catalogue descriptions.
As part of this request, we have re-reviewed the records and determined that some defendants may now be assumed over 100 years old and, therefore, deceased. Where the age of the defendant is not noted within the file we have cross-checked their name with the British Newspaper Archive. If their information is not available there, we have assumed the defendant to be at least 16 years old when charged with the offence. The catalogue titles will be re-instated to our online catalogue, Discovery. Please note, several of the individuals were born in 1924 meaning that only now, in 2025, are we able to disclose their names in response to this request.
Note, ASSI 45/103/3 and ASSI 45/103/7 are incorrectly catalogued as infanticide cases. Their titles will be corrected accordingly, removing the word ‘infanticide’ from the description.
The catalogue descriptions for the following records are already available via our online catalogue, Discovery. Therefore, the descriptions are exempt under section 21 of the Act. Please see the explanatory annex below for more information on this exemption.
- ASSI 36/55/4
- ASSI 36/55/5
- ASSI 36/57/8
- ASSI 65/45/2
- HO 329/124
The catalogue descriptions for the following records are withheld under sections 38 (1)(a) and 40 (2) of the Act. Please see the explanatory annex below for more information on these exemptions.
- ASSI 13/104
- ASSI 13/107
- ASSI 13/191
- ASSI 13/84
- ASSI 13/89
- ASSI 26/55/5
- ASSI 36/68
- ASSI 36/90
- ASSI 36/95
- ASSI 45/104/5
- ASSI 52/590
- ASSI 65/48/2
- ASSI 72/63/2
- CRIM 1/1625
- CRIM 1/1893
In these cases, the defendants are assumed to still be living. This is because they are either known to be under 100 years old or assumed so if aged 16 at the time of being charged with the offence.
The covering dates for all of the records presented to the Reclosure Panel can be found by searching the file references via our online catalogue, Discovery. Therefore, this information is also exempt under section 21 of the Act.
Unfortunately, ASSI 36/68 has been misplaced. Therefore, we are unable to check the record. However, we have cross-checked the name of the defendant with the British Newspaper Archive but were unable to find any information. More information on misplaced files can be found here.
Please note that it is extremely rare that a record will go missing. We will not list records as missing until we have taken all reasonable steps to locate it. We carry out searches using information about previous uses of the document held by our document ordering system. Our staff are always alert to the possibility of finding missing documents and missing documents are often located.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request or the decision which has been reached, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests must be submitted within two months of the date of this response and should be addressed to:
Quality Manager,
Visitor Experience,
The National Archives,
Kew,
Richmond,
Surrey
TW9 4DU
complaints@nationalarchives.gov.uk
Please mark your complaint clearly. You have the right to ask the Information Commissioner (ICO) to investigate any aspect of your complaint. However, please note that the ICO is likely to expect internal complaints procedures to have been exhausted before beginning his investigation.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Manager
Freedom of Information Centre
Public Access & Government Services
The National Archives
Annexe
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 some of the information requested (several catalogue descriptions and all covering dates) is already available via our online catalogue, Discovery.
Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found on the ICO website.
Section 38: Health and Safety
Section 38 provides an exemption from disclosing information if it would or would be likely to endanger the health of any individual (including the applicant, the supplier of the information or anyone else).
Section 38 is a qualified exemption, and we are required to conduct a public interest test when applying any qualified exemption. This means that after it has been decided that the exemption is engaged, the public interest in releasing the information must be considered. If the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it then the exemption does not apply and the information must be released. In the FOI Act there is a presumption that information should be released unless there are compelling reasons to withhold it.
In this case, section 38(1)(a) applies as, if the information was released, it would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual.
We have considered whether it would be in the public interest for us to provide you with the information. Please find below the reasoning for and against disclosure.
Arguments in favour of disclosure:
Disclosure of the requested information would demonstrate The National Archives’ commitment to being a transparent and accountable organisation. It would also reflect The National Archives’ commitment to providing an online catalogue of its collection.
Releasing information would allow for contemporary discussion on the sensitivity of reclosed records and would consequently enable and enrich public debate.
Disclosure would also aid the conduct of research into the cases concerned, enabling the provision of information to support FOIA requests.
Arguments against disclosure:
There are several circumstances in which The National Archives has an established practice to not publish the names of defendants on its catalogue. As explained in the paper for ‘cataloguing infanticide case files’, The National Archives does not publish the defendant’s name, for infanticide cases, in their lifetime because:
“A charge of or conviction for infanticide is only possible where the defendant’s mental health is relevant to what took place; stating that a woman was investigated for, charged with or convicted of infanticide is in itself a statement about her mental health; [and] we should not be publishing sensitive personal information about an individual’s mental health in our online catalogue during the person’s lifetime”
Disclosure would likely endanger the mental wellbeing of the defendants of these cases.
Balance of the Public Interest Test
The National Archives has a duty of care to members of the public, which includes ensuring that information that would likely cause substantial distress is managed in a way that puts their welfare at the forefront. Therefore, The National Archives concludes that the balance of the public interest falls in favour of withholding some of the catalogue descriptions under section 38(1)(a), as the benefits of disclosure are outweighed by the possible mental endangerment to defendants in these cases.
Additionally, although it is not possible to search for names that have been withheld from the published catalogue entries, this does not prevent members of the public from making FOI requests. It is possible to ask whether The National Archives holds information about a case where a specific named person was tried for infanticide. Similarly, it is possible for a defendant in an infanticide case to make a Subject Access Request for information that we may hold about her.
Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found here.
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 some catalogue descriptions contain the personal and the sensitive personal information of a number of identified individuals assumed to be still living. These individuals would have no expectation that this information would be made available by The National Archives in the public domain during their lifetimes; to do so would be unfair and would risk causing damage and distress, which would contravene the first data protection principle.
Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found here.