Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2024 to Question 21527 on Veterans: Radiation Exposure, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the preparation of an instrument under the terms of section 3 of the Public Records Act 1958 to retain the (a) ES and (b) AB series of files that were withdrawn from the National Archives in 2018 for up to 10 years.

The Secretary of State has had no such discussions with her Cabinet colleagues. The majority of AB and ES files which were withdrawn in 2018 have been released back to The National Archives following review.

Any decision by the Ministry of Defence to retain records will be taken once the review has been completed and will require the approval of the Secretary of State following advice from the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives.