CONFIDENTIAL
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UK-related, non-UK-related and mixed microjackets are kept together in the same storage containers called "lektrievers". These microjackets are filed in serial numbers in the lektrievers and their retrieval is by means of a computer index using the name and the identity card number of a person as the retrieval key. Microfilm images in respect of an individual are kept in the same microjacket.
5.
These microfilm records are kept since 1978 and some may contain records earlier than 1978 because files microfilmed in 1978 are mostly pre-1978 records.
6.
It is the extracting of the UK-related records from microjackets containing mixed records in para 4 (c) above that is the most time-and-resource-consuming. (I have shown you the complex process of such segregation during your visit here.)
7.
If we are to segregate the UK-related microfilm records in accordance with your requirements on specified types (e.g. entry clearance according to settlement or refusal; BDTC passport etc.) and different cut-off periods (e.g. 5 years, 10 years, 12 years for the different types), we will have, apart from segregating the records, to screen and sift (i.e. to extract, cut and re-shuffle) all the microfilm images in the UK-related microjackets in order to meet your requirements. In the light of the enormous record size (please see para 9 below) and the complexity of the segregation process, a rough estimate shows that the work will take about 322 man-years to complete. (This requirement has not included the resources for supervision, quality control, computer index re-programming and segregation, segregation of about 3,000 mixed back-up spools and equipments and accommodation.)
CONFIDENTIAL
/8.