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Freedom of information request

Loan and transfer of records to the Royal Archives

Freedom of information request reference
CAS-328470
Request resolved

Request

Please provide me with the latest available list of any documents, files or records that have been loaned, presented or otherwise transferred to the Royal Archives from the Department (temporarily or permanently).

Please include the name of the document/file/record and any other information that is routinely logged by the Department for such documents, files or records (e.g. a date).

Outcome

Information provided.

Response

I can confirm that The National Archives holds information relevant to your request and we are pleased to be able to provide this information to you.

Please see the below table containing a list of records that have been transferred, loaned or presented to the Royal Archives under the supervision of The National Archives.

Section 3(6) of the Public Records Act 1958 (PRA) makes it permissible for public records that have not been selected for permanent preservation to be presented by a department to a bona fide archive as an alternative to destruction. Decisions in relation to this procedure are guided by our Records Collection Policy in paragraph 4.2.

In these circumstances, The National Archives supervises the presentation of records by the relevant department. Please be aware Section 3(6) of the Public Records Act only gives The National Archives a role in supervising the presentation of records from 'relevant departments'. This does not cover presentations/transfers by other archives. Several groups of records have been offered to the Royal Archives under section 3(6) and the following table provides details of presentations to the Royal Archives by various departments made under the supervision of The National Archives:

Year of transfer Description of Records Reason for transfer Instrument No.  From
1993 Royal Correspondence: Letter from King Edward VII Presentation   Treasury Solicitor
2004 Customs and Excise: Letter from Prince Adolphus Frederick, 1846  Presentation/Transfer 1999–27 Customs and Excise
2010 Files detailing flying training for Royal Family, 1967-1984 Presentation 2010–37 Ministry of Defence

Please note the information provided to you here is based on the best information we can establish from the records that we hold here at The National Archives, based on our role which is to oversee the process of presentations under section 3(6) of the PRA.