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Public Record Office

Volume 400: debated on Tuesday 4 March 2003

The text on this page has been created from Hansard archive content, it may contain typographical errors.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment she has made of the effect on net government spending on the Public Records Office of introducing additional charging for access to records; and if she will make a statement. [99824]

Most of the services provided by the PRO are free of charge. This includes access to original records and microforms at Kew and the Family Records Centre; consultation of PROCAT, the online catalogue relating to the PRO's own holdings, and the Access to Archives virtual catalogue for England; the award-winning Learning Curve gallery which provides online material for schools relating to the history national curriculum; and selected digital record images, including those which have featured in recent press coverage.The PRO has introduced charges for online access to electronic copies of paper records. These same paper records are accessible free of charge onsite at the PRO. This new electronic internet service, which is over and above the PRO's statutory service, is charged at full cost recovery and hence has no effect on the PRO's net government spending.The PRO's 1901 census online service is provided by QinetiQ. The rates are fixed by Statutory Instrument and are based on the principle of full cost recovery. Until QinetiQ has recovered its full investment from the project from the income it receives, the PRO will not receive any income and hence this service has no effect on the PRO's net government spending.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what reasons underlie the change in total public spending on the Public Record Office between 1998–99 and 2003–04; and if she will make a statement. [99825]

The changing pattern of the PRO's expenditure in this period is mainly explained by the progressive introduction of new services, which collectively make a significant contribution to the e-government agenda.The PRO website usage has grown from 738,977 in 1998–99 to a projected figure of 70 million in 2002–03 and is now regularly one of the top five government websites consulted by online users in the United Kingdom. The website includes a detailed electronic catalogue of the PRO's records and many digital record images of strong interest to educational users at all levels and to family historians.It is also offering detailed guidance and increased support to other Government Departments, as they make plans to meet the target of introducing Electronic Records Management (ERM) by 2004. The PRO is itself on course to implement ERM in full in the business year 2003–04.In the area of digital preservation, it is currently making arrangements for long-term archiving by setting up a secure repository at Kew, which can store selected electronic records transferred from other Government Departments. In this way a crucial part of the nation's memory will be made available to present and future generations. In the forthcoming year the PRO will secure new storage for its offsite records, thereby ensuring that all of its accessioned material is kept in conditions which comply with the relevant British Standard.Further details about the PRO's programmes and expenditure are to be found in the Keeper's annual reports from 1998–99 to 2001–02, copies of which are available in the Library. Information about its latest achievements can be obtained from the website at www.pro.gov.uk.