What statutory authority the Registrar General for Scotland had to state that personal information from the 2001 decennial population censu…

The assurances about the confidentiality of personal information rested on Section 8 of the Census Act 1920 as amended by the Census Confidentiality Act 1991. The 100 year duration of that confidentiality rested on administrative decisions, underpinned by ministerial undertakings to Parliament. There was no specific statutory authority for the policy of opening 2001 Scottish census returns to the public 100 years after the census to which they relate, or indeed for opening them to public access at any date. The current statutory authority for the 100 year exemption from access for census returns relating to individuals lies in sections 38(1)(c) and 58(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.