The Public Record Office (PRO) holds the National Archives for England, Wales and the United Kingdom, and administers the UK's public records system under the Public Records Acts of 1958 and 1967. The records we keep span one thousand years of British and English history, from the Domesday Book to the latest releases of government files. They fill 174 linear kilometres of shelving.
We act as the custodians of the national memory as revealed in the records of central government and the courts. Our work begins with overseeing the creation and management of active records in government departments; it continues with selecting and permanently preserving national records of enduring historical value in whatever format; and it culminates in making those records available online and onsite to an increasing number of people worldwide, in the ways that are most convenient to them, in order to encourage an informed interest in the past.
A meeting of generations at the PRO reading rooms in Kew, where our archives span one thousand years of history.
What are public records?
Public records are created in the course of the daily activities of government departments and other government bodies. Only a small percentage of these records are selected for permanent preservation because of their enduring historical value. Selected public records are held by the PRO in its buildings at Kew or in over 230 approved places of deposit throughout England and Wales appointed by the Keeper of Public Records on behalf of the Lord Chancellor.
Public records come in many forms, including written documents, maps, plans, seals, photographs, moving images, sound recordings, and electronic records created and read by computers. They can be used for historical and genealogical research, to make government accountable to the people, to inform government decisions, and as legal evidence. Most of these records are opened to the public after 30 years, but the Lord Chancellor and his ministerial colleagues may decide to release some records earlier or later than this.
Our aims are:
Our aims are supported by three objectives:
Every year we propose corporate plans for the next four years, and more detailed business plans for the forthcoming year, each of which is approved by the Lord Chancellor. We have now completely integrated our e-business strategy, which we have developed in line with guidance provided by the Office of the e-Envoy, into our corporate and business plans.
Our corporate strategies and business plans are also informed by the Government Policy on Archives (Cm 4516) (GPA), presented to Parliament by the Lord Chancellor in December 1999, and by the accompanying Action Plan for the period 2001-05, which should be finalised in the spring of 2002. A copy of the draft Action Plan is available on the PRO website.
We have agreed a Service Delivery Agreement (SDA) with HM Treasury, containing key performance targets and covering the period 2001-04.
Links
PRO e-business strategy:
Government Policy on Archives: www.pro.gov.uk/archives/archivepolicy/fullpolicy.htm
Draft Action Plan 2001-05: www.pro.gov.uk/archives/actionplan
The target set out in the Modernising Government White Paper is that electronic records management will be standard across government by 2004. Our most important information management task is making sure that all government bodies achieve this target.
Target
To report each year on the departments' progress in meeting milestones towards the 2004 target (SDA1).
We are achieving this target. We now send reports to the Lord Chancellor every six months on the progress which government departments are making towards the 2004 target under our guidance. In addition, we provide an increased amount of support for departments in the form of workbooks and toolkits.
Most of the records created by government have only fairly short-term significance for the conduct of administrative or business activities. Our selection of those public records of enduring historical value for permanent preservation is intended to provide an information resource for our generation and future generations. Building on the solid foundations of the PRO's acquisition and disposition policies, we are now developing with government departments and other bodies a wide range of detailed operational selection policies. These provide substantive guidance on applying the acquisition and disposition policies to the records of individual government departments or to themes running across departments. We put all operational selection policies out for public consultation before issue.
Target
By March 2004 to have in place 24 quality standards (in the form of operational selection policies) to provide guidance on the selection of records (SDA2).
We had six operational selection policies in place in March 2001. Since then, we have completed work on two more; work on four others is at an advanced stage.
Almost every record is now created through some form of electronic medium, usually a desktop PC. However, most of these records are still filed and managed as paper records - certainly within government. All of this is set to change due to the Government's target that newly created records should be stored and retrieved electronically by 2004.
We are already well advanced in preserving electronic datasets through our contract with the University of London Computing Centre to manage the National Digital Archive of Datasets. We have made extensive contacts with others working in the field of electronic preservation. At the same time, we have begun the essential task of specifying an electronic preservation system that will enable us to store electronic records other than datasets. We are not facing an immediate deluge of digitised accessions, but we must be fully prepared for the time when the present trickle turns into a strong and healthy flow.
Target
To secure the preservation of government electronic records and of newly digitised records in the PRO in line with milestones to be established by the PRO's digital preservation strategy (SDA4).
We have finished an expression of interest letter and supporting specifications for an e-preservation system, which was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities in March 2002. We issued user requirements for an information system about electronic record formats in December 2001, and the system came into operation in March 2002.
We continue to care for the many kilometres of records in more traditional media. As well as preserving these records for research, we offer them to the wider public through exhibitions and displays of key documents.
Target
To improve the preservation of selected public records by storing all of them to the British Standard for preservation and environmental conditions by 2003-04 (SDA3).
This target depends on progress with the Public Private Partnership led by the Ministry of Defence for the storage of selected records stored offsite. All records at Kew are kept in conditions which meet the relevant standards (BS 5454:2000). The target for achieving the relevant storage and environmental standards for the offsite records has now been moved back to March 2005.
We redesigned our website and completed our online catalogue in the spring of 2001. We are now on course to complete the first phase of a joint virtual catalogue for archives throughout England, in partnership with the British Library and the Historical Manuscripts Commission, by March 2002.
A prime objective of our e-business strategy is to make available over the internet digital images of our most popular records - defined as those consulted by more than 80 per cent of our users. These include core genealogical sources such as censuses up to 1901, military service records, and probate material.
Target
To increase the combined total of information requests and electronic transactions online from 11 million in 1999-2000 to 45 million in 2003-04 (SDA6).
In 2001-02 there were well over 40 million requests and transactions online. In November 2001 we introduced a new PRO Online system allowing users to identify which records exist in electronic form and to order digital copies of them over the Internet. Wills from the 1850s were the first group of records we made available in this innovative way. The online 1901 Census service, containing some 32 million names on about 1.5 million pages, was launched on 2 January 2002.
Our award-winning Learning Curve Gallery is linked to the National Grid for Learning and provides online materials relating to the history national curriculum, for school pupils and teachers.
Target
To increase the use of the Learning Curve website so that by 2003-04 it will cover the main relevant history topics in the national curriculum (SDA7).
The Gallery has continued to expand in the last year. We completed an online exhibition on the Cold War, and two other exhibitions are in production. In addition, the Lord Chancellor opened a new onsite educational facility in October 2001. This includes video-conferencing links, which enable schools from all parts of the country to have history lessons from our education staff, using our unique material.
Members of the public seeking advice or services can contact us by telephone, letter, fax or e-mail. Our contact centre puts into practice our vision of a 'one-stop shop'. Users can now place advance orders for documents, book coach party visits, receive information about events and booking procedures, and obtain copies of documents.
Target
To develop our contact centre, with integrated telephone, fax and e-mail services, to enable the public to access detailed information and advice from a single point of contact (SDA9).
The latest developments are taking place on schedule. The streamlining and redesign of processes, including website services, should be completed by September 2002. The projected completion date for an integrated tracking system, covering enquiries received through a number of channels, is the end of 2002.
Our onsite services continue to be well used and well regarded. We record on average about 100,000 reader visits to Kew and 160,000 to the Family Records Centre every year. In surveys, over 90 per cent of respondents regularly rate our services as 'good' or 'excellent'. However, we recognise that, in order to retain such high ratings, we have to continue making service improvements under the auspices of our Public Services Development Programme.
Target
To implement our Public Services Development Programme, including self-service facilities, to streamline services and the provision of computer terminals for users, by 2003-04 (SDA8).
We have introduced into the reading rooms permanent lockers for readers, enabling them to access ordered files for themselves and to avoid queues during busy periods. In 2002-03 we will introduce self-service document-copying using digital cameras, and we will also develop proposals to redesign the Kew reading rooms.
In our corporate and business plans, we are committed to meeting specified targets covering our front-line public services. Our performance against these targets at the half-year stage is set out below.
| Service | Target | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Availability of records which become open to public inspection on first working day of 2002 | 100% | Not yet applicable |
| Availability of records accessioned in the PRO opened to public inspection by a Lord Chancellor's Instrument | 90% within 15 working days | 100% |
| Availability of records transferred to the PRO which are already open | 80% within 70 working days | 91.4% |
| Replies to written requests, including requests for record copies | 98.5% within 10 working days | 99.64% |
| Delivery of records to users in the reading rooms | 90% within 30 minutes (45 minutes on Saturdays) | 96.3% |
| Supply of copies of records to users | 98.5% to specific targets | 98.52% |
| Answering telephone enquiries in the contact centre | 80% of calls requiring an individual response from a member of staff within 30 seconds | 99% |
| Keeping appointments with visitors | 98.5% within 10 minutes | 99.44% |
We have taken the lead in implementing the new Government Policy on Archives (Cm 4516, 1999), in co-operation with the other departments represented on the United Kingdom Inter-Departmental Archives Committee, in order to modernise the archives and records management sector and to improve access to information for all our citizens. The Policy applies the principles of 'joined up government' in an archival setting.
Target
To promote the objectives of the Government Policy on Archives to widen access opportunities by developing an Action Plan (SDA5).
When the Action Plan to accompany the Policy receives final ministerial approval in the spring of 2002, we will have specific responsibility for promoting effective records management throughout the public sector (objective 3), and for encouraging the archive sector as a whole in the processing of electronic data (objective 5). This is a natural extension of our role of promoting electronic records management within central government. We will achieve the Policy's objectives by co-operating with Resource (the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries), the Culture Online initiative led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the education sector and other information providers.
The rights of public access to the records of public authorities, as laid down in the Freedom of Information Act 2000, will take effect in January 2005. Central government departments have been set a deadline of November 2002 to complete publications schemes, which includes releasing details of information. We have promoted a climate of openness by volunteering to be one of the five departments involved in the pilot publications scheme, which started in the autumn of 2001.
The full benefits of the Freedom of Information Act will be realised only if the records of public authorities are in good order and can be speedily retrieved on demand. Under s.46 of the Act, the Lord Chancellor will issue a Code of Practice on the Management of Records under Freedom of Information, based on drafts provided by the PRO. The Keeper of Public Records is working with the Information Commissioner to use the Code as a tool to promote effective records management among all public authorities.
To accelerate progress towards effective records management throughout the public sector, and to safeguard today's archives for future generations, we believe that new national records and archival legislation is needed. The flexibility of the 1958 and 1967 Public Records Acts has served the PRO and other users well for many years. However, initial legal advice suggests that the Acts may not be able to cope adequately with electronic records, and may be increasingly out of line with the rapidly changing government and business environments. We are proposing to undertake a study with other government departments which may recommend that we begin work towards this new legislation.
We had our Charter Mark status renewed for a further three years in late 2001. The assessor paid tribute to the efforts of our front-line staff who 'are knowledgeable and very helpful to users, particularly those who need help with their research', and are 'considerate to users with physical impairments and make every effort to meet their needs'. Although the assessment did not identify a single area where we have scope for significant improvement, we are determined to maintain our current high levels of service and to improve on them wherever possible.
We attracted external funding for the following major programmes, which will give users easier access to archives and encourage new users to discover for themselves the treasures contained in collections throughout the country:
In April 2001 we completed our Better Quality Services (BQS) review of our Record Copying Department, which accounts for about 10 per cent of all PRO staff. We have taken forward the review's recommendations in an Action Plan, which has resulted in a new online copying service to supply digital record images on demand from April 2002 onwards. Further BQS reviews will be conducted when new Cabinet Office guidance is issued.
Our revised e-business strategy was awarded a top 'four star' rating by the Office of the e-Envoy in the autumn of 2001. It set out our approach to meeting the 2004 and 2005 targets, relating to electronic records management and electronic service delivery respectively. This strategy is underpinned by a new e-system strategy, finalised in early 2002, which will ensure that the various strands of our business are completely connected, and that we adopt appropriate and robust technical solutions for the longer term.
We achieved Investors in People (IiP) accreditation for the third time in March 2001. We are developing a general framework of staff competencies in 2002-03, which will provide a yardstick to check that our staff have the necessary skills for their current roles and to progress their careers. We will publish diversity targets relating to the composition of our staff (gender, ethnicity and disability), and our strategy for meeting these targets, by 2005.
Our capital investment of approximately £1 million (other than PPP projects) in 2001-02 is small in relation to our asset base, but has been crucial to achieving our objective of extending access electronically. This capital investment has also supported the government target for all major services for citizens to be capable of electronic delivery by 2005, and promoted social inclusivity by broadening the range of PRO users. The money has been spent on a mixture of hardware and software, and on new systems.
An independent feasibility study found that the sale and leaseback of the PRO buildings would not provide value for money. There are no other significant possibilities for sale of surplus assets or asset disposal.
We always examine potential PPP solutions, particularly in areas of rapid technological change and areas of possible income generation. In 1999-2000 we signed a PPP-type contract with QinetiQ Ltd (formerly the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) to digitise and make the 1901 Census returns available on the internet.
We have a contract with a private supplier under the PPP to provide our UK National Digital Archive of Datasets facility for preserving and making available government electronic datasets. Details of the financing are given in the tables at the end of this report.
We monitor all our recruitment to ensure that appointments are made on the basis of fair and open competition and selection on merit, as laid down in the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code. There were two permitted exceptions in the year from October 2000, which related to a move to permanency for staff on fixed term appointments. Details of staff numbers are given in Table 3 at the end of this report. The salaries of the PRO members of the Senior Civil Service are shown below.
Senior Civil Service salaries at 1 April 2001
| Salary band | No. of staff |
|---|---|
| £60,000-£64,999 | 1 |
| £70,000-£74,999 | 1 |
| £85,000-£89,999 | 1 |
We reinstated the third director's post (Grade 5) and the successful candidate took up the post in December 2001. This brings the number of Senior Civil Service staff to four, three of whom are women. Of the total PRO staff at October 2001, 45 per cent were women, 3.6 per cent classed themselves as disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act, and 15 per cent were from ethnic minorities. We have set targets to improve the diversity of PRO staff by 2005.
Our expenditure covers the cost of a number of activities. The Office has a co-ordination role in ensuring that we meet the Government's 2004 target for electronic records management. We are implementing a challenging programme for electronic service delivery to provide access on the internet to the PRO's holdings. Meanwhile, our traditional work continues, with the maintenance of the record repositories at Kew and Hayes, and of the public reading rooms at Kew and the Family Records Centre in Islington. We pay the British Film Institute to preserve and store government films, and the University of London for storing and giving access to government datasets. Microfilming documents ensures their preservation and enhances access to them. We incur capital expenditure on improvement works and electronic development projects. Since we store over 170 linear kilometres of records, our accommodation costs are a high proportion of our total expenditure. We also produce copies of documents for sale to the public, and offset their cost by charging fees.
Our net administration costs will increase from £32.4 million in 2001-02 to £35.5 million in 2002-03. Investment in electronic service delivery will increase our capital budget from £1.4 million in 2001-02 to £3.3 million in 2002-03. Details of the resource budget, capital budget, staff numbers, capital assets and Public Private Partnerships projects are given in the tables at the end of this report.
We comply with the CBI prompt payment code and BS 7890. Our policy is to pay bills in accordance with contractual conditions. Where no such conditions exist, our policy is to pay within 30 days of receipt of goods and services or on presentation of a valid invoice, whichever is the later. We register complaints with regard to late payment in the Financial Services Department. We received no complaints with regard to late payment in the period from November 2000 to December 2001. We monitor our performance continuously: in 2000-01, we paid 99 per cent of invoices within 30 days; our projection for 2001-02 is also 99 per cent.
Links
The Forty-second annual report of the Keeper of Public Records on the work of the Public Record Office, and the Forty-second report of the Advisory Council on Public Records 2000-01, published by The Stationery Office, 19 July 2001.
| 1998-99 (Outturn) |
1999-00 (Outturn) |
2000-01 (Outturn) |
2001-02 (Estimated Outturn) |
2002-03 (Plans) |
£ thousand 2003-04 (Plans) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumption of resources: The cost of running the Public Records system |
23,615 | 26,151 | 28,543 | 32,355 | 35,486 | 36,886 |
| Total Public Record Office Budget of which: |
23,615 | 26,151 | 28,543 | 32,355 | 35,486 | 36,886 |
| Public Record Office resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) | 20,586 | 24,851 | 26,809 | 29,845 | 31,626 | 32,626 |
| Non-cash items in AME of which: |
3,029 | 1,300 | 1,734 | 2,510 | 3,860 | 4,260 |
| Depreciation | 1,322 | 988 | 817 | 1,700 | 2,200 | 2,500 |
| Cost of capital charges | 1,707 | 312 | 917 | 810 | 1,660 | 1,760 |
| Changes in provisions and other changes | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Capital spending Capital investment in the Public Records System |
1,167 | 1,683 | 1,223 | 1,394 | 3,310 | 3,310 |
| Total Public Record Office Capital Budget of which: |
1,167 | 1,683 | 1,223 | 1,394 | 3,310 | 3,310 |
| Public Record Office capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) | 1,167 | 1,683 | 1,223 | 1,394 | 3,310 | 3,310 |
| Total public spending by Public Record Office | 23,460 | 26,846 | 28,949 | 32,049 | 36,596 | 37,696 |
|
||||||
| 1998-99 (Outturn) |
1999-00 (Outturn) |
2000-01 (Outturn) |
2001-02 (Estimated Outturn) |
2002-03 (Plans) |
£ thousand 2003-04 (Plans) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross administration costs: Paybill |
10,200 | 10,577 | 10,920 | 11,800 | ||
| Other | 16,189 | 18,599 | 20,539 | 31,665 | ||
| Total gross administration costs | 26,389 | 29,176 | 31,459 | 43,465 | 37,096 | 38,496 |
| Related administration cost receipts | -1,861 | -2,316 | -2,670 | -11,100 | -1,600 | -1,600 |
| Total net administration costs of which: |
24,528 | 26,860 | 28,789 | 32,365 | 35,496 | 36,896 |
| Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) | 21,499 | 25,560 | 27,055 | 29,855 | 31,636 | 32,636 |
| Non-cash AME | 3,029 | 1,300 | 1,734 | 2,510 | 3,860 | 4,260 |
| Total net administration costs by activity: The net administrative cost of running the Public Records System |
24,528 | 26,860 | 28,789 | 32,365 | 35,496 | 36,896 |
| Total net administration costs | 24,528 | 26,860 | 28,789 | 32,365 | 35,496 | 36,896 |
| Controls and limits Administration costs limits for gross controlled areas: The gross administrative cost of running the Public Records System |
23,350 | 27,847 | 29,712 | 40,945 | 33,226 | 34,226 |
| Total administration costs limits for gross controlled areas | 23,350 | 27,847 | 29,712 | 40,945 | 33,226 | 34,226 |
| 2001-02 (Estimated Outturn) |
£ thousand 2003-04 (Plans) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Estimated gross publicly sponsored capital of which |
- | - |
| capital spending by private sector on PPP projects | - | - |
| capital spending by public sector under conventional procurement | - | - |
| Net current payments by public sector under Public Private Partnerships of which: |
1 | 1 |
| Central Government | 1 | 1 |
| Local Government | - | - |
| Public Corporations | - | - |
| Freehold land and Buildings | Furniture and Office Equipment | IT Software and Equipment | £ thousand Total |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net book value at 31 March 2001 | 83,527 | 1,652 | 1,613 | 86,792 |