Hampshire County Council

The Castle

WINCHESTER

Hampshire

SO23 8UJ

Susan Healy

Information Management and Legislation Unit

The National Archives

Kew

Richmond

Surrey TW9 4DU

19 November 2003

Dear Ms Healy

Proposed National Records and Archives Legislation

Hampshire County Council welcomes the opportunity to comment on the proposals for national records and archives legislation outlined in the consultation paper published by the National Archives. Our detailed responses to the questions posed are attached.

The case for extending any new legislation on records management from the records of central government to cover the records of local authorities is compelling, and we support those proposals. The case for making the provision of archive services statutory is similarly well made. We support the proposals and wish to draw attention to these points:

1. Hampshire County Council strongly supports its heritage services and we are proud of Hampshire Record Office which is nationally recognised as a flagship archive service. It delivers high quality services to the public from a building which was purpose built ten years ago to meet the British Standard for archive preservation and access. We would like to see archive services, like library services, placed on a statutory rather than discretionary basis in order to ensure a more consistent level of provision across the country and to secure those services into the future. However, in order to achieve this and to develop those services in future, additional resources will need to be provided. A statutory obligation by itself is not sufficient. Archive services require a stable funding base, whether they are provided by a single authority such as Hampshire County Council or by joint arrangements between authorities. Such joint arrangements have in the past been vulnerable to the withdrawal of funding by one or more partners, leaving the service at risk.

2. Hampshire County Council fully endorses the principle of openness and transparency in local government. Local authorities must be fully accountable to the electorate and this requires information to be available and accessible. The archive service, through its records management function, is an essential vehicle in ensuring that information in the form of records (both paper and digital) is captured and preserved. This cannot be left to chance. Hampshire County Council supports the proposal that the duty to produce, manage and preserve a full record of local administration, meeting agreed standards, should become a statutory responsibility for local authorities.

3. We would like to add a comment on the relationship between archive services and other County Council services. While record offices have a unique function in their responsibility to capture and preserve a record of the County's activities, there is much to be gained from ensuring that the service to the public is linked closely to other heritage services such as museums, libraries, archaeology and historic buildings. Joining up such services to provide seamless access greatly adds value for users of those services. It also ensures maximum cost efficiency in terms of collections management and service delivery. We would not wish to see any restrictions placed on such integration through archive legislation. The requirement to make provision for an archive service will need to define the service in terms which permit flexibility in delivery.

Hampshire County Council looks forward to further consultation as the proposals for legislation, standards and guidance and monitoring are further developed.

Yours faithfully

County Councillor John Waddington

Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage