Under the Act a record of a public authority becomes a “historical record” at the end of a period of 30 years.

The National Archives of Scotland holds a large number of Scottish Government and agency files which become “historical records” at the turn of each new calendar year.

From 1st January 2008, about 1,500 additional Scottish Government files can be viewed by the public without the need to submit a formal written Freedom of Information request.

To assist researchers with accessing this new material therefore, we are publishing a list of those files which can be viewed without restriction in our West Search Room from 3rd January.

To view a list of the files download the following PDF: Historical Files 2008 Acrobat PDF - 1.45MB, opens in new window.