Annual Report for 2006 on the application of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002.

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A decision made (17/03/2008) regarding: Annual Report for 2006 on the application of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002.

Decision Reference: MD-ESC-2008-0009
Decision Summary Title):	Report of the Head of Archives and Collections		Date of Decision Summary:	10/3/08
Decision Summary Author:	D Greenwood Assistant Director Culture and Lifelong Learning		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title:	Report on the application of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002, for 2006		Date of Written Report:	22/2/08
Written Report Author:	D Greenwood		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Annual Report for 2006 on the application of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002
Decision(s): The Minister noted the Annual Report for 2006 on the application of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 and instructed that it be presented to the States in accordance with the requirements of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002.
Reason(s) for Decision: Article 48 of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 requires the Head of Archives and Collections to prepare an annual report on the application of the Law, which has to be presented to the States.
Resource Implications: None
Action required: Officers to make the necessary arrangements with the States Greffe for the publication of the annual report for 2006 in accordance with the requirements of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002,
Signature:		Position: Minister for Education, Sport and Culture
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Annual Report for 2006 on the application of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002.

Education, Sport and Culture Department Ministerial Report
Subject:	Report on the Applications of the Public Records Law for 2006
Exempt Clause:	None	Date:	22nd February 2008

Author:	David Greenwood : Assistant Director : Culture & Lifelong Learning

Background

Article 48 of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 requires the Chief Archivist to prepare an annual report on the application of the Law, which has to be presented to the States. The attached for 2006 was prepared in 2007.

2: Recommendation

The Minister is requested to accept the report and instruct officers make arrangements for its publication in the States in accordance with the requirements of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002.

Introduction by the Minister for Education, Sport & Culture

I am pleased to present to the States the report of the Head of Archives & Collections on the application of the Public Records Law in 2006.

The report for 2007 is currently being prepared and will be published shortly. The reason for the delay in publishing the report for 2006 is due to staff changes at the Archive Service.

Senator Vibert

Report on the application of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 for 2006

___________________________________________________________________

2006

The financial constraints on the Jersey Heritage Trust brought about by the three-year funding agreement with the Committee for Education Sport and Culture (ESC) continued to have a direct effect on the Archivist’s work and the work of the Archive staff in respect of the Law to be circumscribed. Thus staff continue to take in archival public records and make them publicly available; otherwise they are only reactive to enquiries for advice about the retention and disposal of documents.

Modern records and archival public records

Modern records

Few enquiries were made in 2006. However there was a significant one, made by the Head of Administration in ESC regarding the retention of school records. As a result of this request, the Archivist and her Senior Archivist met ESC colleagues and representatives of the Health and Probation departments (these departments also have records relating to children) to discuss the retention periods for school records. This work has been constructive and is on going.

The Archivist commented on the draft Freedom of Information (FOI) Law in June 2006. A Freedom of Information Law as proposed in that draft would effect changes to the Public Records Law. The Archivist agreed that there is a clear need to ensure the three laws cited in the proposed law (FOI, Data Protection and Public Records) are aligned and create a workable and appropriate framework for the management of information and its release.

Archival public records

The Jersey Heritage Trust delivered its responsibilities under the Public Records Law in 2006. Deposits of archival public records at Jersey Archive in 2006 continued steadily including substantial deposits from Transport and Technical Services and the first deposit of records from the parish of St Lawrence, bringing the number of deposited parishes to ten. As usual, the entire archives team has spent a great deal of its time processing these archives so that they are fit for storage in the secure repositories. The Archivist and the Senior Archivist also made a number of visits to the parish hall in St Ouen to survey the St Ouen records. The transfer of the St Ouen archival public records will be made when primary research in the parish archives is completed for the proposed history of St Ouen.

As many archives as possible have been catalogued so that they can be accessed by the public but the cuts to the service in November 2004 meant that the cataloguing backlog for all records at Jersey Archive grew from eight to twelve years with the loss of one archivist. In 2006 the backlog of uncatalogued records grew to eighteen and a half years. Uncatalogued records that should be available are not as a result of the backlog.

Records Advisory Panel

The Records Advisory Panel met in March, June, September and December in 2006. The Archivist is grateful for the continued support and practical advice offered by the Panel.

Funding

In the last quarter of 2006, as the result of the Archivist’s annual report on the Public Records Law for 2005, various States bodies including the Corporate Management Board reviewed the funding available to the JHT for its work at the Archive in respect of the Law.

The Corporate Management Board did not agree to fund the proposed initiative to employ a public records manager and offered the alternative suggestion that the Archivist should write to all the accounting officers of the States departments

to advise them of the nature and impact of the risk to States business if records and information are not managed well;
confirming the services that may be provided through the Jersey Archive
indicating the cost for the provision of those services.

At the end of 2006 the Archivist conducted a brief consultation by email with the Public Records Officers (PROs) of the departments to find out what progress had been made in their departments with working under the law and especially the development of retention schedules. In following up the Corporate Management Board’s alternative suggestion identified above she will pick up the departmental responses to her email survey.

Sue Groves

Head of Archives and Collections

Jersey Heritage Trust

August 2007

Appendix A

Archival public records transferred from Departments and public institutions in 2006:

23 accessions were received from public bodies (includes departments, parishes and utility companies) under the Public Records Law. They amount to 17 cubic metres of records, the equivalent of 100 metres of shelves.

Chief Minister’s Department

Customs and Immigration Department

Jersey Telecom

Judicial Greffe

Office of the Lieutenant Governor

Parish of St John

Parish of St Lawrence

Parish of St Mary

Rural Economy

St Clement’s School

States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service

States of Jersey Meteorological Department

States of Jersey Treasury

Transport and Technical Services Department

Public Records Law Annual report 2006