NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICES: SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION

INDEX TO SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION

National Archives and Records Services (Declaration of Secrecy) Regulations

National Archives and Records Services Regulations

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORD SERVICES (DECLARATION OF SECRECY) REGULATIONS

(section 22)

(12th August, 1983)

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

    REGULATION

    1.    Citation

    2.    Declaration of secrecy

        Schedule - Declaration of Secrecy

S.I. 92, 1983,
Act 14, 2007.

1.    Citation

    These Regulations may be cited as the National Archives and Records Services (Declaration of Secrecy) Regulations.

2.    Declaration of secrecy

    Every person who is appointed under or employed in carrying out the provisions of the Act shall make and subscribe before a commissioner of oaths a declaration of secrecy in the form set in the Schedule.

SCHEDULE
DECLARATION OF SECRECY

(section 9(2))

(reg. 2)

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICES REGULATIONS

(section 22)

(30th December, 2011)

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

    REGULATION

PART I
Preliminary

    1.    Citation

    2.    Interpretation

    3.    Application

PART II
Transfer of Public Records

    4.    Primary appraisal of semi-current records

    5.    Application for approval to transfer records

    6.    Issue of approval to transfer records

    7.    Rejection of application to transfer records

    8.    Access to transferred records

    9.    Transfer of records between Ministries or Government Departments

    10.    Retention and disposition of public records

PART III
Reproduction of Public Archives

    11.    Reproduction of archives

    12.    Reproduction of audio tapes, etc. or cine films

    13.    Broadcast of audio tape, etc. or cine film

    14.    Photographic shots of archives

    15.    Fees

PART IV
Access to and Use of Public Archives

    16.    Access to archives by public officers

    17.    Loan of publications to public officers

    18.    Consultation of archives by members of the public

    19.    Use of archives

    20.    Restriction to access of archives by members of the public

    21.    Access to semi-current records by members of public

    22.    Hours of operation

    23.    Prohibition of smoking, eating, etc.

PART V
Management and Protection of Public Records

    24.    Responsibility for public records

    25.    Record classification system

    26.    Records Manager

PART VI
General

    27.    Export of archives

    28.    Donation of private archives

        Schedule 1 — Forms

        Schedule 2 — Prescribed fees

S.I. 116, 2011.

PART I
Preliminary (regs 1-3)

1.    Citation

    These Regulations may be cited as the National Archives and Records Services Regulations.

2.    Interpretation

    (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

    "accession list" means a form used to capture records which are contained in a box;

    "appraisal" means the process of assessing and determining the value of records for their disposition;

    "archives officer" means an official of the National Archives and Records Services responsible for maintaining and preserving archives;

    "Archives Repository" means a facility designated for the storage of public records which have been selected for preservation as archives.

    "consignment" means a collection of records which are transferred to a Records Centre at the same time;

    "consignment booklet" means a compilation of accession lists, with location numbers, for a particular consignment;

    "location number" means a unique number given to a box containing records in a record centre;

    "Records Centre" means a facility designated for storage of semi-current records by the National Archives and Records Services;

    "record creating agency" means a ministry or government department responsible for producing a particular record;

    "Record Management Procedures Manual" means a document published by the National Archives and Record Services which sets out procedures for the management of public sector records;

    "semi-current records" means records that are infrequently consulted for current official business and have been inactive for at least a period of three years;

    "transfer" means a change of custody, ownership and responsibility for public records; and

    "publication" means books, published reports and pamphlets and include reports, periodicals and reprints of articles from periodicals, newspapers, maps, plans, illustrations and other materials whether printed, micrographed or produced by other processes, issued for sale or for free to members of the public.

3.    Application

    These Regulations shall apply to all places of deposit and prescribed bodies.

PART II
Transfer of Public Records (regs 4-10)

4.    Primary appraisal of semi-current records

    (1) A record creating agency shall not transfer semi-current records to a Record Centre unless the records have been subjected to a primary appraisal exercise and were found to have a continuing value.

    (2) Public records that have been selected for preservation shall be transferred to the Records Centre.

    (3) A record creating agency shall, before destroying records, apply to the Director for approval to destroy such records.

    (4) Where the Director approves destruction of records, he shall issue a certificate of destruction in Form B set out in Schedule 1.

5.    Application for approval to transfer records

    An application for approval to transfer semi-current records shall be made to the Director in writing, accompanied by a typed accession list of the records to be transferred as set out in Form A of Schedule 1.

6.    Issue of approval to transfer records

    (1) The Director may, if he is satisfied that the requirements of regulation 4 have been met, issue a written approval to transfer semi- current records and shall specify the date on which such semi-current records are to be transferred by the record creating agency, which date must be adhered to.

    (2) The record creating agency shall, while awaiting transfer, systematically store such records in a safe, secure, dust free and insect free environment.

    (3) Upon transfer of semi-current records to a records centre, the National Archives and Records Services shall—

    (a)    update the accession lists to indicate the date of preservation or destruction and the Records Centre location number; and

    (b)    produce a consignment booklet in duplicate and issue a copy to the record creating agency.

7.    Rejection of application to transfer records

    (1) The Director may reject an application for approval to transfer records after having inspected the records where the records—

    (a)    have not undergone primary appraisal;

    (b)    have not been properly accessioned and boxed; and

    (c)    are to be used for a short time and ought to have been destroyed in line with their retention periods.