Access to Restricted Documents Policy

You can download a Word version of this document here.

1. Policy statement and purpose

This policy explains why and how access to some material preserved at Gloucestershire Archives may be restricted.

Most of the original documents held at Gloucestershire Archives can be accessed by visiting our research room.  But there are some documents (less than 5%) that cannot be used in the normal way - 'restricted documents'.

2. Scope

The policy applies to records in all formats which are held by Gloucestershire Archives for preservation as archives.

3. Terminology

Archives are the record of everyday activities of governments, organisations, businesses and individuals. Archives may take many different forms – handwritten, typed, printed, photographic or electronic – and include audio-visual material such as video and sound recordings. As authentic and reliable records, they are preserved permanently because of their evidential and historical value.

Public Records are defined by the Public Records Acts of 1958 and 1967. They include records created by coroners, magistrates’ courts and health authorities. Under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, transfers of public records to approved places of deposit will be made once the records are 20 years old.

4. Background

Gloucestershire Archives gathers archive collections and local and family history resources to ensure they are kept secure and made accessible.

We are an accredited archive service recognised by The National Archives as the place of deposit for public records relating to Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire.

We are a Gloucestershire County Council service.  By agreement, we also provide an archive service for South Gloucestershire Council and are the appointed record office for the Diocese of Gloucester.

We are a lead partner in the Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, a network of local people and organisations with a common interest in our historic county's documented heritage.

5. Restrictions to access 

Access to a document may be restricted for the following reasons:

• A document is fragile and handling it could cause more damage.
• A document is 'born digital' and only available in an electronic format.
• The owner has requested that it is not made available for research for a while or should not be copied.
• There is a statutory or legal reason that prevents open access to the document.

We are currently improving the descriptions in our online catalogue so you will know when there are restrictions on something you would like to look at.  This is a big task and will take some time.  For now it is best to pre-order your documents so we can check for restrictions on your behalf and tell you about any that apply before you visit.

6. Arrangements for access

Whenever possible, we will make special arrangements for you to access the information you are looking for.

If it is a fragile document, depending on its nature and condition, we might:

• Offer you a copy on microfilm/fiche or DVD or a printed transcript.
• Set it out for you in our research room, and pack it up when you have finished.  And ask you to use special equipment (e.g. protective sheets and gloves) while you are using it.  This ensures careful handling.
• Ask you to make an appointment to use it so we have time to prepare it for you. Where copies are available the original will not be used unless the duty staff agree the surrogate is deficient.  The availability of copies should be clearly marked in our catalogues and finding aids.

If a document is marked in the online catalogue as a 'digital record' we may need up to five working days to make a copy available for you.

If the owner of the document has limited its use we will explain the restrictions and, depending on the document or collection concerned, we might:

• Contact the owner or their representative to check that the restriction(s) is/are still valid.
• Suggest an alternative source which might include some of the information you need.
• Put you in touch with the owner so you can apply for their permission to use and/or copy the restricted items; and/or
• Ask you to provide details of your research interest to share with the owner.

We will do our best to give access to uncatalogued collections but in some cases access may be restricted or delayed due to staff time required to find the necessary information.

If access to the document is limited because of a statutory or legal restriction we will explain why and let you know if and how you might be able to get the information you are looking for. 

7. Accessing information that is restricted for statutory and legal reasons

Sometimes we restrict access to original documents to comply with legislation, particularly the Data Protection Act, 2018 which relates to sensitive or confidential information about people who might still be alive.

There is more information on the Council’s website under Transparency and Freedom of Information

Under the terms of the Data Protection Act, 2018 we can let you see some types of documents containing restricted information about people providing you agree not to use this in a way that might cause distress to those concerned or inform decisions relating to them.  The documents that fall into this category are all less than 100 years old and include some school and Board of Guardians records.  We will let you know when this restriction applies and ask you to sign a Researcher Undertaking.

Under the terms of the Data Protection Act, 2018 and the Representation of the People Act, 2000 we can let you see electoral registers that are less than 10 years old providing you agree to make only hand-written copies. If the electoral registers are less than 10 years old and are in electronic form, no name searches are permitted. We will ask you to sign a Conditions of Use declaration before you use them.

You can make a Subject Access Request for information the Council^[1] has about you in its records, including information in the following records at the Archives:

• Adoption and fostering registers and files.
• School punishment books and pupil's files.
• Some gaol (prison) records which might include information about the victim.
• Some Magistrates' Court records which might include information about adoptions or fostering.
• Some police records.

You can also see some documents containing restricted information if you get permission from the organisation that created them.  If the organisation no longer exists you can seek permission from its successor organisation.  The documents that fall into this category are:

• Medical records less than 100 years old for many hospitals in Gloucestershire, a few hospitals in South Gloucestershire and the Gloucestershire mental health hospital or ‘lunatic asylum’ - please contact the Health Records Manager of the NHS Trust concerned.  You can get their details via the website of the relevant trust either https://www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/about-us/our-trust/freedom-information/how-request-copy-your-health-record/ or https://www.nbt.nhs.uk/about-us/information-governance.
• Coroner's inquest files less than 75 years old for Gloucestershire and some coroner's inquest files less than 75 years old for South Gloucestershire - please contact either the Gloucestershire Coroner’s service or Avon Coroner's service
• Magistrates court registers less than 75 years old – please contact HMCTS Gloucestershire

Requests for access to any other material must be made in writing to the Head of the Archives Service, Gloucestershire Archives, Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, Clarence Row, Alvin Street, Gloucester, GL1 3DW or emailed to archives@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Applicants should provide their full name, home address and additional contact details such as email address, full details of the material concerned (including unique Gloucestershire Archives catalogue reference number and/or web URL) and set out clearly the reason(s) for the request.

All requests will be reviewed by a panel of senior staff at Gloucestershire Archives. We will provide a written response within 30 working days of the request being received. The reasons behind the decision made will be made clear to the applicant in writing.

At the end of this process, the material will either be made available, or access will continue to be restricted.

8. Criteria 

When assessing applications for access to restricted information we will consider the following criteria

• Any statutory reasons that may prevent access
• Whether the material was restricted in error and an amendment is required to rectify a mistake.
• The age of the record
• The duty of confidentiality to the subject of the record
• The purpose of the research

The applicant can appeal the outcome of this decision making by emailing archives@gloucestershire.gov.uk.  We will then refer the matter to Gloucestershire County Council’s research governance process. This process reviews applications on a case-by- case basis.

9. Statutory rights

This policy does not affect the statutory rights of members of the public to request information in restricted records under Freedom of Information legislation or the Environmental Information Regulations.

10. Equalities, diversity and inclusion

Gloucestershire Archives is committed to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our work.

We treat all staff, customers, and anyone else we come into contact with, equally and with dignity and respect. We do not discriminate on grounds of age, disability status, employment status, ethnic or cultural origin, gender or gender reassignment, marital status, nationality, religious belief or non-belief, responsibility for dependants, sexual orientation or social background.  We recognise, respect and value difference and diversity.

We review all policies and the related equalities impact assessment every three years, or sooner if required.  Our latest equalities impact assessment and our equality, diversity and inclusion policy are here www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/policies.

11. Roles and responsibilities

The Head of the Archives Service is responsible for implementing and reviewing this policy, with the support of the Archives’ management team.

12. References

This policy should be read alongside related Archives Service policies, and in particular our Access Policy, Closure and Takedown Policy, Collections Care Policy and our Privacy Notice. These and all our other policies can be found at https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/policies.

Gloucestershire County Council’s equalities strategy can be found at https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/equalities-and-our-duties-under-the-equality-act-2010/equality-objectives/.

13. Review and revision

This policy will be reviewed every 3 years.   Please write to archives@gloucestershire.gov.uk if you wish to give feedback on this policy. 

Document Control

Version history

Date of next revision: 2026

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  [1] In most cases this is likely to be Gloucestershire County Council, but in some cases after 1996 it could be South Gloucestershire Council. Where this is the case, we will let you know.