The Public Records (Transfer to the Public Record Office) (Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order sets out the transitional arrangements that are to apply following the commencement for all remaining purposes of section 45(1) of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

Section 45(1)(a) of the 2010 Act reduces the period by the end of which public records are required by section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958 (c. 51) (“the 1958 Act”) to be transferred to the Public Record Office (which exercises its functions as part of The National Archives) or other place of deposit. In future, transfer will generally be required no later than the end of 20 years from the date on which the record was created, as opposed to 30 years. Section 45(1)(b) provides that, for a period of 10 years from the date of its commencement, this reduction takes effect subject to any transitional, transitory or saving provision made by order by the Lord Chancellor under section 45(2) to (5).

The commencement of section 45(1) took effect from 1st January 2013, by virtue of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (Commencement No. 7) Order 2012 (SI 2012/3001), for the purposes of all records except those specified in the Schedule to that Order. The Public Records (Transfer to the Public Record Office) (Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2012 (SI 2012/3028) sets out the transitional arrangements that apply, for a period of 10 years starting on 1st January 2013, to those records in respect of which section 45(1) was commenced.

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (Commencement No. 9) Order 2014 brings into force section 45(1) for all remaining purposes on 1st January 2015, subject to the transitional arrangements set out in this Order.

Article 2(1) provides that for a period of 10 years beginning on 1st January 2015 the transitional arrangements set out in article 2(3) will apply to relevant records. Article 2(3) provides that a relevant record created in a year specified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 2 must be transferred no later than the end of the year specified in the corresponding entry in column 2. Article 2(2) clarifies that the transitional arrangements apply to relevant records notwithstanding the commencement in full of section 45(1)(a) from 1st January 2015.

Article 1(2) defines “relevant records” as records of a description set out in Schedule 1 to this Order.

Article 3 makes saving provision in respect of section 3(4), so that the requirement to transfer relevant records created in 1985 when they are 30 years old remains unaffected, notwithstanding the full commencement of section 45(1)(a).

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/20-year-rule-and-records-of-local-interest.html.