Catalogue description Foreign and Commonwealth Office and predecessors: Information, News and Guidance Departments: Registered Files (I and P Series)

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Details of FCO 26
Reference: FCO 26
Title: Foreign and Commonwealth Office and predecessors: Information, News and Guidance Departments: Registered Files (I and P Series)
Description:

This series contains registered files of the Information, News and Guidance Departments. The records relate to the provision of factual guidance to overseas posts on government policy, and the policy, financial and administrative affairs of the overseas information services, plus the work of liaising with UK and overseas press, radio and television.

Date: 1967-1982
Arrangement:

By former file reference

Related material:

For earlier Commonwealth Relations and Commonwealth Office information departments records see:

For earlier Colonial Office information departments records see CO 1027

DO 191

DO 192

DO 194

For earlier Foreign Office information departments records see FO 953

Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department: I and P file series
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English and Miscellaneous
Creator:

Commonwealth Office, Information Policy Department, 1966-1968

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, European Communities Information Unit, 1970-1972

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Guidance and Information Policy Department, 1970-1977

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Guidance Department, 1968-1970

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Information Administration Department, 1968-1977

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Information Department, 1980-2002

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Information Policy Department, 1968-1970

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Information Policy Department, 1978-1980

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, News Department, 1968-

Foreign Office, Information Administration Department, 1967-1968

Foreign Office, Information Policy Department, 1967-1968

Physical description: 2590 file(s)
Access conditions: Open unless otherwise stated
Immediate source of acquisition:

From 1999 Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Accumulation dates: 1967 onwards
Accruals: Series is accruing annually.
Administrative / biographical background:

Joint Foreign Office/Commonwealth Office information departments were established before the formation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in October 1968 to provide an integrated information service for the two offices in the run up to their merger. From October 1968, there were four distinct FCO information departments: Guidance Department; Information Administration Department; Information Policy Department; and News Department.

A merged Guidance and Information Policy Department was formed in 1970, and in that same year an European Communities Information Unit was established to handle information work relating to the UK's application to join the three European communities. The Unit lasted only until 1972, when information work relation to the application became one of the functions of the new European Integration Department (2).

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