Welsh Office / Wales Office
Forensic assessment · v1.1.0 · updated 1 November 2026
Translation pending: the assessment text below is in English, the authoritative record.
- Response status
- Awaiting first reply
- Last contact
- 29 October 2026
- Next date on file
- None on file
- Earlier version
- v1.0.0, published 18 October 2026 on the Legal Wiki
Since last assessment
18 October 2026 to 1 November 2026
Our reading: Since 18 October 2026, 1 emails are on file: 1 sent, 0 received (0 with content, 0 automatic acknowledgements). The response status is unchanged: “Awaiting first reply”. Most material: 29 October 2026, sent, internal review request (ref 26FOI 103): Further internal review request on 26FOI 103 (reply of 22 Sep 2026), adding historical names for the farm as new search terms. Nothing here changes the earlier current finding unless stated above; this is a log of contact, not a finding about any person.
- Sentinternal review requestref 26FOI 103
Further internal review request on 26FOI 103 (reply of 22 Sep 2026), adding historical names for the farm as new search terms.
The assessment as last published
Carried over unchanged from v1.0.0 (18 October 2026). Links point inside this site.
Roadmap / catalogue cross-reference — 10-10-2026: Follow the reported departmental handover and 2026 correspondence chain in the Institutional Involvement Roadmap. The reported 1988 Cadw-to-Minister spot-listing letter is separately catalogued as GHF-E152; its exact reference and custody remain to be verified.
Forensic Assessment — Welsh Office / Wales Office
Scope: historic/current Wales Office functions relevant to central-government oversight and records.
Role
The Wales Office is not treated as the body that determined private title. Its relevance arises only where its records show ministerial/departmental awareness, correspondence, policy oversight or transfer/custody of records relevant to the case.
Forensic control test
For IR/26/16 and any related request, identify the exact record category, search scope, responsible policy area, exemptions, retention/transfer status and substantive answer. Distinguish a departmental records problem from the merits of the underlying land assertion.
Current finding
As at 10-10-2026, the material reviewed does not establish wrongdoing by the Wales Office. This is not a finding that the office had no involvement; the assessment is limited to the particular correspondence, search and transfer issues identified. 🕒10-10-2026 The current objective is to obtain a reasoned answer and preserve any central-government record that can establish chronology or knowledge.
Human action
Chase IR/26/16 to outcome, require a record-by-record explanation for any refusal/absence, and identify any transfer to The National Archives or successor department.
Acceptance: substantive result logged with the exact documents held/not held and escalation route. 🕒10-10-2026
Institutional appearance timeline — linked source index
Coverage rule: this is a chronological navigation map of published Wiki source pages found by searching the current site index for “Wales Office”. Every event label links directly to the page containing the source. It avoids duplicating source narratives. It records mention/appearance, not culpability. Dates are transcribed from page titles where available; “Date not explicit in title” means the linked source must be consulted. Search indexing is a discovery aid, not proof of exhaustive external coverage. 🕒10-10-2026
Records-access register appearances — direct row links
Rows below match the institution’s name or an alias in the reply register. A match establishes an appearance in the records trail, not necessarily a substantive act by the institution.
| Date | Correspondence / register item (click to open) | Reading rule |
|---|---|---|
| 21 May 2026 | R42 — Cadw (Welsh Government), Listed Buildings casework. | Name/alias match in the reply register; open the row to distinguish sender, recipient and incidental reference. |
| 13 Jul and 30 Jul 2026 | R27 — HM Land Registry (Coventry and Wales offices). Ref WA231076/A/216 and N610CGV . | Name/alias match in the reply register; open the row to distinguish sender, recipient and incidental reference. |
| 8 Sep and 22 Sep 2026 | R16 — Wales Office FOI (NIO mailbox). 26FOI 103 . | Name/alias match in the reply register; open the row to distinguish sender, recipient and incidental reference. |
| 29 Sep 2026 | R03 — Wales Office FOI (replying from the NIO FOI mailbox). Internal review IR/26/16 of 26FOI 103 . | Name/alias match in the reply register; open the row to distinguish sender, recipient and incidental reference. |
Related navigation: FOI & Public-Authority Reply Register · Records Access Chronology · Evidence Library
Page version & change log
Current version: 1.0.0
| Version | Date (UTC) | Editor (human or agent name) | Change | Source / evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0.0 | 2026-10-18T15:29Z | the editors | Footer standardised; no content change | Editing Protocol, 18 Oct 2026 |
Agents and editors: follow the Editing Protocol.
Case file
This file is built for a future reparations claim. Facts are as the records show them; interpretation is labelled “our reading”. Items marked “not checked” have not been compared with the original record.
(a) Conduct timeline
3 dated interactions, oldest first; 0 automatic acknowledgements are left out. Quotations are verbatim from the institution’s email; where the reply’s substance was an attachment, the email subject is quoted instead.
Show the timeline
| Date | Direction | Reference | Type | Verbatim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 August 2026 | sent | — | request | Subject: Williams Heirs, Great House Farm, Llandough (Est. 1667) |
| 28 September 2026 | sent | 26FOI 103 | internal review request | Subject: Request for Internal Review — 26FOI 103 — response dated 22 September 2026 |
| 29 October 2026 | sent | 26FOI 103 | internal review request | Subject: Request for Internal Review — 26FOI 103 — response dated 22 September 2026 |
(b) Inconsistencies and gaps
Missed deadlines
- 28 September 2026: Statutory deadline 28 September 2026 for the request of 29 August 2026: missed (no reply by deadline).
- 28 September 2026: Statutory deadline 28 September 2026 for the request of 28 September 2026 (ref 26FOI 103): missed (no reply by deadline).
(c) Quarantined-name links
Records on the quarantine register (Kissed Frogs) that sit in, or came from, this institution’s holdings. None is treated as settled.
No quarantined-name record on the register is linked to this institution’s holdings.
(d) Duty and liability — our reading
Liability indicators (our reading): some
- Duty
- Freedom of Information Act 2000 s.1 and s.10 (confirm or deny, and supply held information within 20 working days); Environmental Information Regulations 2004 for land and environmental records; records management under the s.46 Code of Practice; Public Records Act 1958 selection and transfer for central government records.
- Indicators the duty was not met
- missed statutory deadlines.
- Evidence still needed to confirm
- the institution’s retention schedule and disposal record for the series in question; the catalogue or file list it searched; any internal review or complaint outcome.
- Likely extent of exposure if confirmed
- An ICO decision notice or a records-management finding; any reparations claim would also need a link between a records failure and the loss.
(e) Evidence still needed
- Inspect the files it names, or their transferred copies at the archive. for paid visit list
Versions
| 1.1.0 | 2026-11-01 | Moved to the Forensic Assessments webapp; dated “Since last assessment” section added; response status re-read. |
| 1.0.0 | 2026-10-18 | As published on the Legal Wiki. |