Records relating to 'extraterritorial nationality authority'

Request

This FOI request concerns closed, retained, restricted, or unpublished records held by The National Archives that may identify the constitutional authority – if any – by which Parliament legislated over extraterritorial imperial nationality (CUKC/BDTC)

1. This FOI request is not for open public records.

The request concerns documents that are:

• closed
• retained by departments
• transferred but not yet public
• subject to withholding exemptions
• or otherwise held in The National Archives but not accessible via general catalogue search

2. FOIA requires confirmation of whether the information is held

Under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, The National Archives must confirm:

• whether it holds documents of the types described, and
• if so, provide the relevant catalogue references even if the documents themselves cannot yet be opened.

This request is expressly for existence and identification, not access to open files.

3. Catalogue references are required even for closed records

If responsive documents are held in any of the following series:

• CO (Colonial Office)
• HO (Home Office)
• CAB (Cabinet Office)
• PC (Privy Council)
• FCO/FOREIGN OFFICE
• or Parliamentary record sets transferred to TNA

Please provide:

• the catalogue reference
• the closure status
• the department of origin

This is required under FOIA even where access is restricted.

4. Narrowed and specific scope for your search

To assist your search, I reconfirm the three precise categories requested:

• Any document identifying the constitutional authority (if any) that empowered Parliament to legislate over the nationality of CUKCs born outside the UK.
• Any document evidencing a prerogative transfer, delegation, or Order in Council transferring authority over imperial nationality to Parliament or ministers.
• Any memorandum or submission stating that: no such authority existed, the power was assumed or implied, or constitutional authority was uncertain.

This is a narrow request concerning a single constitutional issue.

5. Please process under FOIA

Given the above, please proceed to

• confirm whether such documents are held
• or issue a written determination under s1(1)(a) that no information is held
• or identify the relevant catalogue references as required by the Act.

Further clarification on request

To assist The National Archives in meeting its Section 16 duty to advise and assist, and to ensure this search remains within the Section 12 cost limit, I am providing the following narrow search terms for the specified 'unaccessioned' and closed records.

1. Target Record Series and Timeframe:

Please prioritize searches within the following high-level record series for the period 1 January 1980 to 31 December 1982:

• PREM 19 (Prime Minister’s Office: Correspondence and Papers)
• CAB 128 (Cabinet Minutes)
• CAB 129 (Cabinet Memoranda)
• CAB 134 (Cabinet Committees: Minutes and Papers)

2. Narrow Search Terms

Please search for records within the above series using the following identifiers:

• 'Extraterritorial Nationality Authority'
• 'CUKC Reclassification Authority'
• 'Crown Allegiance Extinguishment'
• 'Vested Rights' AND 'Hong Kong' AND 'Nationality'
• 'Prerogative Power' AND 'Nationality Act 1981'

3. Statement of Procedural Finality

I am providing these narrow search terms specifically for the PREM and CAB series as these are the primary repositories for the UK’s foundational constitutional and executive decisions. By narrowing the scope to these specific, high-level unaccessioned records, I am assisting The National Archives in meeting its Section 16 duty while remaining within the Section 12 cost limit. Should a search of these specific ministerial and cabinet series result in a response of 'Information Not Held,' I will accept this as a formal and final administrative confirmation that no record of the specific constitutional authority for the 1981 Act was retained by the Prime Minister’s Office or the Cabinet Office for that period.

4. Further Assistance

If these terms still present a cost-limit issue, please provide the file titles for PREM and CAB records from 1980–1982 that mention 'British Nationality Bill,' so I may refine the search to specific pieces.

Outcome

Information not held.

Response

I can confirm that The National Archives does not hold any ‘unaccessioned’ records relating to the above search terms. There are not any records from the PREM 19, CAB 128, CAB 129 and CAB 134 series that have been transferred but have not yet been accessioned into The National Archives’ collection.

To clarify we have concluded from searching for the information you requested, we do not hold any transferred records on this subject that have not been catalogued.

Our holdings and the transferred records on this subject matter would therefore be searchable via Discovery, our online catalogue, which includes open and closed material.

Closed records can be requested under FOI if you require access. The access status is outlined on the right-hand side of the catalogue entry and, if it is a closed record there will be an option to submit an FOI request.

Therefore, the remainder of your request is exempt under section 21 of the FOI Act, which exempts information if it is readily available to the applicant by other means. For further information about why this exemption has been applied, please see the explanatory annex below.

Annexe

Exemption 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 closed records are searchable via our online catalogue, Discovery and, as such, are already available to the public.

For example, a search of 'CAB 134' records concerning the dates 1980 to 1982, finds 5 closed records. However, these do not match any of the search terms provided. Please see this example search result.

Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found on the ICO website.