A STUDY OF THE THEORY OF APPRAISAL FOR SELECTION By ...

seriously challenged since it was advocated.84
The major challenge to the Grigg proposal came in the late
1970s, with a public furor which broke out in the press when
several academics charged the PRO with a large scale and
indiscriminate destruction of public records.85 In 1981, the
Wilson Report acknowledged that public records are "a most
precious part of the national heritage. .^. These records are
vitally important for the knowledge and understanding of British
society, its organisation and function."86 It identified several
changes in government record-keeping practices that exacerbated
the current crisis in confidence. These changes included the old
problem of the increasingly unmanageable bulk of modern records,
and the newer problems of widespread use of electronic records,
wider interests of researchers, and a greater public demand for
access.87 The Wilson report noted that 'the keystone' to the
Grigg proposals was the use of experienced, knowledgeable senior
staff.88 It upheld the efficacy of the proposals, and concluded
that the goal of preserving historically valuable records was
undermined by the "administrative erosion" in the application of
84 Ibid, 52.
85 Wilson Report, 18, paragraph 53. See also, M.S. Moss,
"Public Record Office: Good or Bad?" Journal of the Society of
Archivists 7 (April 1983): 156-57.
86 Ibid, 3, paragraph I.
87 Ibid, 8-14, paragraphs 21-50.
88 Ibid, 6, paragraph 14.
86