Contact: Janet Smith tel. 01962 846154

1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this report is to draw attention to two areas of national legislation which may have implications for the future development of the Hampshire Record Office.

1.2 The first is a proposal for national legislation on records management and archives, which would set standards and inspection regimes for records management in central and local government and which could also make the provision of an archive service a statutory duty for local government.

1.3 The second is the publication of a government White Paper on the modernisation of the civil registration service which will transfer responsibility for the records of civil registration to local authorities.

2. National Records and Archives legislation

2.1 In August 2003 the National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office (PRO)) published a consultation paper on proposals to change the current legislative provision for records management and archives.

2.2 Current legislation includes the Public Records Acts of 1958 and 1967 covering the records of central government, whether held centrally at the National Archives or deposited locally in local authority record offices. It also includes The Local Government (Records) Act of 1962, which confers limited discretionary powers for local authorities to provide archive services and empowers them to acquire and make available for study records of local significance over and above their own administrative records. In addition, those parts of the Local Government Act of 1972 that relate to archives and records require all local authorities to make `proper arrangements' for documents in their custody, but it has no statutory force. Guidance on those `proper arrangements' was issued in 1999 by the Department for Transport. Local Government and the Regions whose responsibilities now lie with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).

2.3 The proposals in the consultation paper were wide-ranging and can be summarised briefly as covering the following three main areas:

a) to enact primary legislation to consolidate the recent merger of the Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission (now The National Archives) and amend the Public Records Act 1958 to remedy its deficiencies and in particular to provide for digital records. Present legislation does not provide adequately for the new issues raised by digital material.

b) to provide a firm legislative basis for records management in central government (both digital and paper records) and to extend the same benefits across the whole public sector including local government. Recent new legislation - the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) - require good record keeping if compliance is to be assured. Both acts apply across the whole public sector. The FOIA specifically recognises the importance of record keeping by provision for a code of practice on records management. While compliance with this code is accepted as contributing to some requirements of the Act, it is not a mandatory code so without further legislation its usefulness will be limited.

c) to introduce a statutory duty on local authorities to make provision for archive services on the same lines as library services. Local archives services are a unique resource and offer enormous benefits to the community. They are heavily used and increasingly they are putting services on-line, as in Hampshire, hugely increasing potential users. There are wide differences in the provision actually made - some is excellent, as in Hampshire, some is not. New legislation would require that specified authorities provide local archives services (as is at present the case for library services under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964). This would be a flexible requirement, allowing for joint provision through partnerships of authorities both local and regional, or with others such as universities.

2.4 New legislation would necessitate regulation through agreed standards and guidance, probably issued by a national figure (such as the National Archivist), which would cover all relevant matters. This would be accountable and subject to consultation and Ministerial approval as necessary. Monitoring would also be necessary; this would need to combine effectiveness with a light touch. For local requirements, the Audit Commission could be a possible route, or possibly some form of self-regulation.

2.5 There would be cost implications for each option, in addition to the cost of enacting the legislation itself. The greatest additional cost would arise from making archive services statutory for all local and regional authorities. This would bring new a resource burden to those organisations currently not providing these services. But it would also bring more structure to arrangements which local authorities are already expected to provide, and would ensure a more consistent provision of archive services across the country.

2.6 In considering how to respond on behalf of Hampshire County Council the following benefits of such national records and archives legislation were identified:

- it would strengthen the position of archive services within local authorities

- it would clarify the current hotchpotch of specific, particular and open-ended legislation which leaves archives services in a half-way house position of being not a statutory service but yet having certain statutory obligations

- it would replace the current unclear provision of Section 224 of the Local Government Act 1972 which obliges councils to make `proper arrangements' for records in their custody and would clarify what core archive services should be

- it would lead to clear, authoritative and agreed national standards which would be invaluable for monitoring archive services and for setting priorities and targets for improvement

- it would support a drive towards clear and consistent archives service provision across the national archive network, in which local archives services are a central part, for the communities of archive users

2.7 In summary, it is suggested that the proposals for national legislation for archives and records management are broadly to be welcomed. They would be a considerable help in strengthening the position of archive services within local authorities, where discretionary services face fierce competition from statutory services in times of budget constraints. They would also help to ensure greater consistency of provision and higher standards in local archives services across the country. The parallel with the improvements for the provision and management of library services provides a broadly positive model for archives services.

2.8 While the issue of additional resources is likely to restrict the level of support for statutory provision from some local authorities, counties like Hampshire, which already make excellent provision for archives, would be unlikely to experience significant additional burdens from such legislation. In addition, the proposals offer scope for authorities to work flexibly or in partnership to provide services where this is appropriate. New records and archive legislation of some sort is clearly essential to make provision for digital records and for records management within central government; these proposals provide the first opportunity for many years to establish local records and archives on a firmer legislative footing.

2.9 Over 250 responses were received by the National Archives following the public consultation period. Hampshire County Council submitted a response through the Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage (Appendix 1). All responses are currently being analysed in order to put together revised policy proposals. The outcome of that analysis is now awaited and recent information from the National Archives suggests that options for both primary legislation and secondary legislation are being considered.

3. Civil registration legislation

3.1 In January 2002 a White Paper Civil Registration: Vital Change - Birth, Marriage and Death Registration in 21^st Century was presented to Parliament by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. It contained proposals for the modernisation of the civil registration service, making full use of modern technology. Further consultation on the implementation of these proposals is still under way, but the legislation is expected within the period of this Parliament.

3.2 Individuals will in future be able to register births and deaths on-line, by phone or in person; if in person they will be able to do it at any register office. Local authorities will be responsible for the local service and will be expected to innovate and provide these registration services in ways that meet their local communities' needs.

3.3 Civil registration records date back to 1837. The older ones are of interest to genealogists and more recent ones are widely used by Government and other organisations (e.g. financial services industry). In time, all these records will be computerised. In order to balance the need for privacy and openness a distinction is being made between the historic records and those relating to people still living. The full historic records (those relating to people over 100 years of age) will be made available. For records relating to the active population, the majority of the record will be available, as at present, but access to information on addresses, occupations and cause of death will be restricted.

3.4 While the proposals of the White Paper for re-structuring the registration service are not a matter for the Recreation and Heritage Policy Review Committee, there are potential implications for the Hampshire Record Office of which the Committee should be aware. These concern the status of, and access to, the historic records of registration.

3.5 The current proposals will transfer responsibility for the completed registers from the superintendent registrar to the local authority. While there is no immediate obligation to transfer the registers to local record offices, storage space for civil registration records in Hampshire is becoming an issue for the local registration service and Hampshire Record Office has already been approached about the possibility of providing storage. Once the records are the legal responsibility of the County Council the pressure to find storage space in the Record Office will become more acute. Discussions are now under way with the registration service and the implications for future accrual space at the Record Office will soon be known. It is anticipated that space could be made available as soon as a solution is found for the storage of modern records (many of which are currently stored at Sussex Street but they do not require the archival conditions provided there). Nevertheless, the transfer of large quantities of civil registration records, whenever it takes place, will substantially reduce the amount of growth space for other archives, making the planning for additional archive storage in future years more urgent.

3.6 The White Paper also proposes that marriage notice books be included in the list of records for permanent retention as archives. If this is accepted, it will be an additional burden for local authorities, with associated storage space requirements and resource implications.

3.7 In addition to capital costs to provide archive storage meeting the requirements of BS5454 there will be additional costs for local authorities in providing surrogate copies to meet the inevitably high demand for access to the registration records.

3.8 Other proposals have implications for restricting access to information which is already in the public domain. The Record Office holds marriage registers received from religious bodies and for preservation reasons has for many years provided microfilm copies for public use. If some information from marriage registers under 100 years old is to be restricted under the legislation, all record offices will face the difficulty of restricting access to data which has hitherto been freely available. This could place an additional burden on archive staff.

3.9 Proposals are made in the White Paper for the digitisation of the historic records by a not-for-profit organisation. While this is not impossible it is unclear whether the central records held by the General Register Office (GRO), or the records held in local registration offices, would be digitised, or both. The White Paper acknowledges that it is the local record that is `the definitive legal record' and there is an argument about the accuracy of the central GRO record. There will certainly be a huge demand for access to the local record which will require the provision of surrogate copies. The not-for-profit sector is unlikely to be willing to participate in two similar copying exercises, so the cost to the public purse of digitising the GRO record and the local record would impose an unreasonable burden. It could be argued that it would be a better use of resources to accept the higher logistical and other costs of copying the local record. This would have practical implications for local management of the digitisation process.

3.10 The archive profession, including the Association of Chief Archivists in Local Government, has already made detailed responses to the White Paper along these lines and it remains to be seen whether the legislation when enacted will have taken account of these comments.

3.11 As the new legislative requirements become clearer, and a timetable for implementation is developed, it will be essential for local archivists to liase closely with local registration services. Discussions are already under way between the County Archivist and the registration service in Hampshire about the future of the registration records and a further report will be brought to the Recreation and Heritage Policy Review Committee when the practical implications for the Hampshire Record Office become clearer.

Recommendation

1. That current proposals for national archives and records legislation and for the modernisation of the civil registration service be noted.

2. That future developments in the area of national legislation for archives be closely monitored by the County Archivist and reported to the Recreation and Heritage Policy Review Committee at a future meeting when the practical implications for Hampshire's archive service are clearer.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the act.

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