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 6 December 2023 to Question 4035 on Veterans: Radiation Exposure, whether a security classification is automatically given to documents locked by Lord Chancellor's Instruments (LCIs) citing national security exemptions; and whether a classification was given to the documents noted in Question 4035 under LCIs (a) 76 and (b) 118.

The process for assigning security classifications to Government records is separate to the process of retaining records through a retention instrument (formally known as a Lord Chancellor’s Instrument). The originating Department assigns a classification in line with the Government Security Classifications Policy.

Records selected for permanent preservation which are classified at Secret or above are retained by the relevant Government Department through a retention instrument as The National Archives cannot hold material of this classification.