Ray said: > The release of the 1911 data 2 years early was a one-off breaking of the > rule and required, I imagine, a special decision by Parliament. There is a > lot of debate behind the scenes about future release dates. With the > population expecting to include thousands of centenarians soon, it is quite > likely that the 100-year embargo will be reinstated. Especially necessary > as the data collected by Census is becoming more and more detailed [and > intrusive, in my view]. ** Ray - The situation was that the 1911 census did not have a definite embargo on a 100-year closure, and the Registrar General in England execised his judgement and realeased 1911 early. I gather the 1821 English census DID include a promise of a 100 year closure, and so no early release there. In Scotland, the Scotland Act stupidly enshrined the 100 year embargo on all Scottish public records, and the census was caught by that, so no early release in Scotland, unless the law is altered by the Scottish parliament. It seems the Freedom of Information Act doesn't apply.......:-( Gordon.

Gordon Johnson wrote: > ... > In Scotland, the Scotland Act stupidly enshrined the 100 year embargo on > all Scottish public records, and the census was caught by that, so no > early release in Scotland, unless the law is altered by the Scottish > parliament. I wouldn't call it stupid. There is a big difference between "the public interest" and "what the public might be interested in". The Census asks some quite personal questions, and the non-publication rule is there to reassure people that their data will not be released until long after they are dead and gone. Family historians may regret that some other data is embargoed, but in at least some cases, the applicaton of the 100-year rule is posthumously righting a historic invasion of privacy. While the relevant laws were in force (until 1930) any data supplied by persons applying for relief under the Poor Law immediately became a matter of public record, because any ratepayer could demand to view the Registers (and in some cases, eg the City of Aberdeen, the information was actually printed and published!) Gavin Bell