Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what instructions and guidance his Department has given to other Government departments on the destruction of paper and electronic records potentially relevant to the Independent Panel inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse; and whether that guidance is in line with the provisions of the Inquiries Act 2005 on the production of evidence.

The Cabinet Office has in place a process for reviewing its files scheduled for destruction, and has a moratorium in place on the destruction of potentially relevant files. My officials have contacted Departmental Records Officers’ to ensure that they have similar processes in place.