National Archives - Kew Tips?

The Non-Executive Directors' minutes for last December appeared on the Kew website a few days ago, and item 2 is of interest.

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/board-minutes-2023-12.pdf

" 2.0 Freedom of Information (FOI) Demand for Service Personnel Records
2.1 The Board received a report providing an update on the scale of the FOI demand relating to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Service Personnel Records Transfer project, including risks and mitigations and possible wider impacts on the organisation.
2.2 LF introduced the report and set out the challenges around our compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and provided an update on the FOI Action Plan, as agreed with the Information Commission’s Office (ICO) to support us in improving our FOI performance. She also set out the multifaceted approach going forwards, which included:
• preparing a business case to submit to HM Treasury for scaling up the FOI team to meet demand;
• driving discussions at official and ministerial level to surface the issue with the Cabinet Office, who are the policy lead for the FOIA;
• reviewing the Fees Order for the potential of introducing a new charging model;
• delivering catalogue improvements to make open records available through record
copying or the reading room, therefore reducing the reliance of the FOI regime to access the records.
2.3 There was a wider discussion around our appetite to outsource the FOI function. There was also a discussion around the drivers for access demand, which was noted to be largely from those interested in family history. Ancestry, the family history community more generally and the MoD themselves have been activity promoting the records, which has fed demand. The Board suggested looking at ways of managing FOI demand, including reviewing communications, whilst maintaining transparency and acting with integrity. LF provided assurance that a communications strategy was in place.
2.4 Noting the scale of the issue and the resources required to meet the current and predicted access demand for the records, the Board expressed concern over significantly expanding the size of the organisation to deliver FOI responsibilities, which would have an impact on our strategy Archives for Everyone and potentially change the nature of the organisation.
2.5 Access demand for Parliamentary Archives records and the risk of the project having an adverse impact on our FOI performance were also discussed. The Board received assurance that the Parliamentary Archives Project Steering Group were looking at this.
2.6 Overall, the Board was supportive of the multifaceted approach and the options presented. The Board noted that the ICO and ministers in general were sympathetic to our burden, but there were risks associated with non-compliance with the FOIA.
2.7 The Board
(i) Welcomed and noted the update, specifically the current challenges posed by rising demand and progress made in addressing these challenges to date;
(ii) Supported the multifaceted approach set out in the paper to mitigate risk;
(iii) Endorsed having clear governance and assurance and asked to be kept updated; and
(iv) Suggested, from a lessons-learned perspective, taking a risk-based approach and assessing impact upon business priorities when making decisions on future projects."

 

Time marches on, and the retiring Keeper of The National Archives, Jeff James, gave an update and reflection on his time in office - actually nearly three months ago, but only just appeared on the Kew website - on March 19th last. See item 7 at this link:

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/user-advisory-group-minutes-2024-3.pdf

"7. Update & Reflection (JJ)
JJ reflected on the highlights of the last 10 years, noting the successes, as well as the challenges.
These included:
• Becoming a more commercially focused archive – raising income from Licensing &
Royalties and managing the accounting and financial forecasting challenges around
these.
• Delivering key digitisation projects such as the Farm Survey, 1939 Register and 1921
Census.
• Engaging in key partnerships with the UAE National Library & Archives and The
Gazettes which brings in substantive income.
• Increasing our visibility and transforming our international presence, particularly in
Europe.
• Becoming a more confident and assertive archive with strong relationships with
government departments, research institutions and commercial partners.
• Becoming more inclusive through digital projects related to migrated archive (FCO
141) and having a more diverse Board to support the organisation’s direction of
travel.
• Delivering successful exhibitions and education engagement programmes, such as
Great Escapes, Windrush, touring of the Spirit of Invention and the Magna Carta.
• Expanding our digital services, such as launching ‘Transfer Digital Records’, which
enables records to be transferred digitally from government departments and
expanding it to deliver Find Case Law.
• Creating a ‘safe haven’ for 20 million digital records of the Ukraine National Archives.
UAG Minutes 6
• Embarking on one of the largest transfer projects – 10million MoD service personnel
records.
In terms of external factors which have impacted the organisation, JJ noted Covid-19 and our
response by making digital records available for free; EU exit and securing additional funding to
deliver legal certainty through Legislation services; and the end of the transition to the 20-year
rule which has been delivered for government and has one year remaining for local authority
places of deposit.
Looking ahead at the future and some of the challenges, JJ noted a general election, potential
pressure on public spending, preparations for a Spending Review. More, longer-term he noted
storage challenges which TNA was currently investigating and recruiting digital skilled staff.
Cyber security was also on the agenda, following the British Library incident. He concluded by
informing delegates about the launch of ‘Archives Unlocked’ – a refresh of the government’s
vision for Archives.
This was followed by a question and answer session which centred on the following themes:
• Activities and challenges of the cataloguing team and their role in making the
Parliamentary Archives collection available and accessible on our technological
infrastructure.
• Strategic prioritisation choices in a resource constrained environment and an
explanation of activities that relate to TNA’s Public Task around the preservation of
records, versus public value, such as our education and exhibitions programme.
Over the years, TNA has tried to make sure access and engagement is as much part
of its responsibilities as preservation.
• TNA’s outreach activities and its role and reach as a ‘national’ institution versus the
constraints of its geographical location and looking at innovative ways to overcome
this i.e. prioritising digital access to records nationally and internationally, through
delivering leadership to the archives sector and broadcasting from the Learning
Centre to reach audiences beyond London.
• The various powers of the Keeper as set out in the Public Records Act, Letters Patent
and Royal Warrants.
• The risks of seeing digitisation as a cost-effective way of avoiding expensive storage
and the value in retaining and preserving original records."

 

" I am perhaps one of the few entirely paperless judges." Quote from an article in "Counsel" magazine for July 2024, about the current Master of the Rolls, Chair of the Kew Advisory Committee, Sir Geoffrey Vos.

issue

 

The 21st Annual report has now been published (yesterday):

Annual report and accounts 2023–24 highlights

A few more director's minutes are now available, and board minutes, but no Advisory Council minutes since September 2023.

"We are a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. We are the guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents, expert advisers in information and records management, and a cultural, academic and heritage institution.

We fulfil a leadership role for the archives sector in England and work to secure the future of physical and digital records. Our collection is accessible to everyone all over the world.

This year’s report covers the first year of our new four-year business plan, guided by our refreshed strategic vision, Archives for Everyone. It has been a challenging yet also rewarding year. Major projects continued, despite our resources being impacted by external uncertainties. We are half way through taking in an unprecedented 10 million records of military service personnel. Innovative tools such as Lawmaker and Find Case Law are expediting the ways that legislation may be created and judicial records can be accessed. In partnership with colleagues across the sector, the Archives and Records Association, assessment organisation CILIP Pathways and training provider Westminster Adult Education Service, we were delighted to launch the new Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprenticeship, which will open up our profession to people from more diverse backgrounds, with more diverse ideas and skills.

In July 2024, we mark the departure after ten years of our CEO and Keeper, Dr Jeff James CBE. The organisation has evolved significantly during this period and the planning undertaken during his tenure has enabled us to seize many opportunities to grow. While there will undoubtedly be new challenges in the future, thanks to his leadership, we will move forward to meet them with greater confidence in our mission and greater clarity about our destination.

As we welcome our new CEO and Keeper, Saul Nassé, the work towards our goals continues. For the period 2023-27, we have united our activity under three themes: collection, connection and custodianship. Through these themes, our focus is set on sustaining and maximising not only our own value and impact as a national archive, but on the value and impact of archives more widely, too. We continue to transform The National Archives, striving to find creative approaches to the challenges we meet and to make good on our unique promise and potential.

■ The year 2023-24 was the first year since the end of the ten-year transition period to what is known as the 20-year rule. This means that government departments are now required to transfer their records to us 20 years after they were created, whereas in the past it was 30 years. In 2023-24, the number of transfers returned to levels similar to those before the transition period, at around 470,000 pieces or 3,168 linear metres. As the 20-year rule becomes business as usual, we are working with departments to address outstanding transfers, as well as new challenges brought about by born-digital records.

■ Our landmark transfer of Ministry of Defence (MoD) service personnel records has moved past the half-way mark, with over 1 million records being delivered into our care during 2023-24 and a total of over 5.5 million transferred so far. We are working with our commercial partners to digitise and publish these records online, so that more people are able to explore the stories they hold. Online series will start to become available over the next financial year.

■ During the calendar year 2023, we saw an extraordinary increase in FOI requests. Requests to The National Archives accounted for 30% of all requests to government and the largest overall increase to bodies in government since monitoring began. The sheer unprecedented pace of the increase has put significant pressure on our teams and our rate of timeliness compliance has decreased: for 2023, this was 58%. In March 2023, the Information Commissioner’s Office issued a Practice Recommendation that outlines an expectation that our compliance rate would improve. During 2023-24, we have been working on an action plan to track our recovery, exploring process efficiencies and improving governance and data capture.

■ It has taken our collection 1,000 years to reach its current expanse of around 250km, yet, over the next ten years, we will take in half as much again. To alleviate short-term pressure, we have created a new repository at our site in Kew and procured extra storage offsite. But the longer-term challenges demand much greater capacity and more creative solutions. One avenue we are exploring is a new physical site in the North East of England – a location that aligns with our aims strategically and operationally, as well as our aspirations for developing the archives sector across England.

■ We continue to support the government records management community with their obligations under the Public Records Act 1958. In the past year, we supported six new short-term bodies and 13 ongoing short-term bodies, including the Infected Blood Inquiry, Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, Grenfell Tower Inquiry and the UK COVID-19 Inquiry. We also published our new Information Management Assessment (IMA) self-assessment toolkit, which provides public sector bodies with an independent assessment of how well they are managing their information, their practices, and how effectively they are mitigating any related risks. "

 

I'm planning to be there on Tuesday and hoping for the normal efficient service. And also hoping for some coffee and cake!!

Regards

Tom

 

I hope you have better luck than me on Saturday. Two completely wrong files were delivered, and a correct file was put in the wrong locker (fortunately, the same number, different letter - I found it myself).

Let's not mention a recent advanced order in which they used the wrong series—eight files or so. Fortunately, the other four kept me busy until they turned up.

I'm not sure what's going on. Until this year, I don't think I experienced a single mistake (and I understand they happen). Now, there is at least one per visit.

 

Hi Gary,

I hope you are OK and got the right files in the end. I’ll just be pleased if the trains are on time this time!! I’ve had a couple of similar issues, but I think they’ve always been down to me putting the wrong number in.

All the best,

Tom

 

Hi Tom,

Don't talk to me about trains. A recent trip was cancelled when the entire West coast mainline was shut due to potential trespassers on the track near Milton Keynes. This is apparently all it takes to shut it for several hours...at least I never managed to board.

If you use the District Line, I hope the signaling between Richmond and Turnham Green stays operational for your trip. On the last two of my visits, it has been down (once on the way there—I got the 110 bus from Hammersmith) and this Saturday on the way back (fortunately, Overground was running, so we went via Willesden Junction). If you have a ticket on a certain train home, my advice is to check the District Line status an hour or two beforehand. Looking online, it seems this failure is a regular occurrence.

Cheers,
Gary.

 

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/executive-team-minutes-2024-06.pdf

"2. Medium-Term Storage Options
DA and DF joined the meeting.
2.1. LF introduced the item, saying that the paper followed on from the previous Executive Team (ET) discussion around off-site records storage held in Autumn 2023. The team had since explored options for the re- procurement for the capacity of existing storage, as well as extra storage for medium-term use. ET were asked to note that it had been assessed that extra storage would now be required one year later than previously estimated, which removed the need for an intermediary contract.
2.2. ET were asked to consider the analysis of the options presented in the paper and the recommendations to re-procure existing storage until 31 March 2032 and to complete the procurement of additional storage from 1 January 2026 until 31 March 2032.
2.3. ET discussed the changed assessment of when additional storage would be needed and asked the team to evaluate the risk that the timeframe may be re-assessed again in the future.
2.4. DA explained that the reassessment had been due to space being used more efficiently that {sic} anticipated and some rephasing of work to transfer the historical records of Ministry of Defence (MoD) service personnel. The proposals for the procurement and re-procurement of storage would accommodate future reassessment.
2.5. ET also discussed the weighting of the various assessment criteria and how to best drive value for money.
2.6. Decision: ET agreed to re-procure the existing storage until 31 March 2032 and to complete the procurement of additional storage from 1 January 2026 until 31 March 2032.
DA and DF left the meeting."

 

Interesting consultation ( closed in February ) and responses:

Storage and retention of original will documents

Ministry of Justice plan to destroy historical wills is ‘insane’, say experts

https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/stati...-and-Retention-of-Original-Will-Documents.pdf

https://files.royalhistsoc.org/wp-c...ion-on-the-storage-and-retention-of-wills.pdf

 

Summer lightning strikes !

The Advisory Council minutes from November 2023 are finally published, and two more for the current year. Contains references to FOI and the service personnel records subject.

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/advisory-council-minutes-2023-11.pdf

"6 November 2023

3.3. Members asked about the burdens of processing FOI requests for MoD
Service Personnel records. Mr James confirmed that this was a significant
pressure on The National Archives resources and that in the future a
realistic possibility would be that 10% of staff at The National Archives
would be dedicated to this work."

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/advisory-council-minutes-2024-02.pdf

"16 February 2024

6. FOI Panel Update
6.1. The Head of FOI Centre presented this report and highlighted key metrics to
members.
6.2. Members were informed the FOI Centre concluded 2023 having received over
4,000 requests. The Advisory Council Panels had considered a total of 840
cases, each being assigned the maximum number of twenty cases each. FOI
requests for the recently transferred MoD Service Personnel records, handled
by the MOD Access Service, received over 18,000 requests for those records
by the end of 2023.
6.3. Members queried whether some Departments are being too cautious with their
application of s. 38 of the FOI Act.
6.4. Similarly, Members requested Departments be reminded of the correct
language to use in their justifications such as, for example, using ‘could’ when
‘would’ or ‘would be likely to’ would be more accurate. It was confirmed that
TNA colleagues would be proofreading for this particular issue thoroughly."

3 May 2024 - The National Archives

"3 May 2024

3.1.3. Members discussed the Cabinet Office’s annual FOI bulletin which
reported TNA had received 21,366 requests out of a total of 70,475
submitted to all monitored bodies. Members discussed the impact this
continued to have on TNA’s ability to meet their requirements under the
FOI Act (FOIA). TNA were looking at options to alleviate pressure on the
team and would discuss proposals with the Advisory Council in due
course."


And four vacancies on the "User Advisory Group" : nothing to do with the Advisory Council.

Join our User Advisory Group - The National Archives

 

Kew has an item for "Spending Review" in the minutes since they began publishing them online from the early 2000's but this year the budget may well result in fewer coppers in the jam jar.

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/executive-team-minutes-2024-08.pdf

"5. Update on Spending Review

5.1. MTM provided a verbal update on the Spending Review. ET noted the indication
that it would be an imposed settlement.

5.2. MTM informed ET that the Spending Review team had been made aware of the
pressures on TNA budgets from continued work on Retained EU Law and
Freedom of Information requests relating to the transfer of Ministry of Defence
(MoD) service records. ET discussed the need to work on the business cases for
these, regardless of whether the settlement was to be imposed. SN requested a
further briefing on the latter item.

5.3. Action: LF to arrange a time with SN provide a further briefing on MoD service
records.

5.4. Action: JS to update the business case for Retained EU Law.

5.5. LF highlighted the discussions held to date regarding changes to TNA’s fees order
and how this relates to the MoD service records. ET noted an upcoming
discussion and decision to be made at the next Special ET meeting on 15 August
2024."

 

In the Kew world without mention of personnel service records ( Directors' minutes not mentioned the topic for some time now ):

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/executive-team-minutes-2024-10.pdf

There will be new procurement ideas from next February:

"8.4. The Head of Private Office informed ET that DCMS are asking arm’s length bodies to slightly update the wording of the clause of their framework documents regarding procurement, for futureproofing."

And:

"Workday Objectives
9.4. AM informed ET that there were still 244 members of staff whose objective setting is ‘in progress’. ET were asked to have conversations within their directorates to ensure that these were completed."

 

"Workday Objectives".

Get the admin. on their admin. and then they just might be able to carry out some admin.

Kind regards, wot? no admin? always,

Jim.

 

Non-Executive Directors' minutes for November 2024 appeared on the TNA website today:

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/board-minutes-2024-11.pdf

"Asks for efficiencies"

"3.2. SN provided an update on the Comprehensive Spending Review and the outcome of phase one. He noted that the strategy session held in the morning will inform our submission for the second phase, which was expected to include asks for efficiencies. The National Archives’funding relationship with The National Archives Trust will also be considered as part of the Strategy Review."

 

'Asks'

You'd think the word 'requests' would be looming larger in their collective consciousness lately.

 

"7.2. Three new risks had been added to the register relating to risks to government of The National Archives failing to capitalise on digital, Legislation publishing and Access to MoD Service Personnel Records."

 

A lot of the work on the last one, a portion of which is the work in over-zealous redacting of the records, is a self-inflicted wound and is within their gift to resolve. A lot of the info they are redacting is publicly available on other sources - many of which they have sold to the Family History companies such as FindMypast and Ancestry.

 

Kew directors minutes for January: the Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director departed, his last meeting was in December.

Item 2 meeting 16/1/2025: another review - 20% please:

"2. Spending Review

2.1 MTM introduced the item and outlined the budget position as part of the zero-based review on existing spend and identification of 20% deprioritisation and efficiencies, as set out in the terms of the Spending Review ask."

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/executive-team-minutes-2025-01.pdf

 

Read the minutes. Nothing of the content of the proposals, papers or discussion included so almost worthless to the public.