Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 180241 on Regulation, where the Government stores archival records for the (i) Regulatory Impact Unit, (ii) Better Regulation Executive and (iii) Department for Business, Energy and Regulatory Reform; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of reform of those policy areas since the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

Records relating to those bodies, if they have been retained, are stored in external storage (managed by ex-BEIS) and reviewed by either ex-BEIS or DBT in accordance with Public Records legislation to assess whether they are historically significant, should be retained by the department or can be destroyed.

Records are reviewed before they reach 20 years old and the oldest records are reviewed first. Assessments are made during the review process.