Education, Sport and Culture Department Ministerial Report |
Subject: | Annual Report of the Archivist Under the Public Records Law |
Exempt Clause: | | Date: | 30th April 2009 |
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Author: | Rod McLoughlin : Cultural Development Officer |
- Background
Article 45 (1) of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 requires the Archivist to prepare an annual report on the performance of her duties and those of the Jersey Heritage Trust under the Law, and on relevant developments during the course of the year since the appearance of the previous annual report.
The attached report for 2008 has been prepared by the Archivist for presentation to the States. A further report on progress under the Public Records (Jersey) Law has been submitted under Article 45 (2) of the Law and will be disseminated by the Archivist.
2. Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to accept the annual report of the Archivist and to instruct officers to make arrangements for its publication in the States in accordance with the requirements of the above Law.
2008 Annual Report on the work of Jersey Heritage and the Archivist under the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002.
Introduction
Under the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 the Archivist is required to provide an annual report to the States of Jersey. The 2008 annual report gives details of the assessment of the Jersey Archive against national standards, the care of and access to public records, legislative work, records management work, work undertaken as part of the historic abuse enquiry and staffing at the Jersey Archive. The report also highlights steps that should be taken by the States of Jersey to ensure the future sustainability of the Jersey Archive.
National Standards
In May 2008 the Jersey Archive was assessed by Dr Norman James of The National Archive against BS5454: Recommendations for the storage and exhibition of archival documents (2000) and the wider ranging Standard for Records Repositories (2004). Dr James was asked to measure how well Jersey Archive performs against national standards, make recommendations for improvements and development of the service and comment on the operation of its functions under the Public Records Law.
Dr James completed report includes the following key recommendations:
- That the proper implementation of the Public Records (Jersey) Law, 2002 is impossible with current staffing levels.
- That public access be improved and the cataloguing backlog stabilised through a package of measures, ideally moving back to the previous staff establishment of 11.
- That an infrastructure of departmental information managers within each States administration and the appointment of a permanent records manager on the staff of the Jersey Archive is imperative if the Archive is to carry out its duties under the law.
The report highlights the excellent facilities at the Jersey Archive and also the high level of service provided by staff but concludes that ‘Jersey has a flagship archival operation whose facilities and staff are a credit to the island but this achievement will be placed in jeopardy if the Jersey Archive is not adequately supported.’
Archival Public Records
In 2008, 63 new collections from official bodies were transferred to the Jersey Archive. These collections contained over 13,000 individual items – over double the amount of records deposited by public institutions in 2007. In 2008 28 cubic meters of records were transferred to the archive. If transfers continue at this rate the Jersey Archive will be full by 2017. The Archivist expects that the rate of transfer will not continue at current levels as many institutions have now deposited their older records and many future transfers will be made in a digital format. However, space in the Jersey Archive repositories will be monitored on an annual basis. All new collections have been fully accessioned, assessed by the Archive Conservator and placed in the strongrooms at the Jersey Archive to await cataloguing.
Please see appendix A for a full list of public records accessioned in 2008.
The Jersey Archive currently holds a quarter of a million public records, 70% are fully catalogued and accessible for members of the public to research. The remaining 30% are waiting to be catalogued before they can be made available to the public. With current staffing levels this represents a 21.4 year cataloguing backlog, an increase of 1.7 years on the backlog of 2007. In 2008, 4,843 items were catalogued by staff and 13,902 new items (both public and private records) were accessioned. These statistics show that with current staff levels the cataloguing backlog will continue to grow on an annual basis.
Public records currently held at the Jersey Archive are kept in an environmentally controlled secure strongroom which is monitored for temperature and humidity by the Conservator on a daily basis. In 2008 the Conservator spent 321 hours ensuring that all public records arriving at the archive were cleaned and repackaged. The Conservator is also responsible for a programme of active conservation of badly damaged items and in 2008 she repaired 13 items – nearly double the amount conserved in 2007. The archive currently holds 380 items in an unusable condition that are in need of active conservation work.
Each year the Jersey Archive completes a stock take to ensure that public records are located correctly in the strongrooms and that none have been misplaced during the year. In 2008 approximately 50,000 records were checked in stock taking week and found to be in the correct locations.
Public Access to Records
In 2008 the Jersey Archive was open to the public on 160 days of the year and 3,506 readers made use of the facilities – an increase of 6.6% on footfall during 2007. The Archive also provides access to public records through its online catalogue and enquiries service. In 2008 staff answered over 1,100 written enquiries by letter or e-mail. The catalogue received a total of 90,000 visits with over 10,000 visitors searching the archives for over 20 minutes.
Dr James’ report has identified the need for improvement in public access to Jersey’s archival material. From statistical information contained in The National Archive’s Public Services Quality Forum questionnaire the Jersey Archive is in the bottom 5% of archival institutions in the UK for opening hours. Between September and November 2008 local law firm Appleby sponsored six Saturday morning openings at the archive. This was a welcome development which saw a 200% increase in average attendance when compared to a weekday.
Closed Records
Under the Public Records Law any information produced by a public body is closed to public access for 30 years unless it has been previously available, e.g. published reports. The Records Advisory Panel, appointed under the Law, has the ability to approve recommendations from the Archivist for longer closure periods on records of a sensitive nature, e.g. Children’s Services or Hospital records.
In 2008 the Archivist reviewed 380 record series that are currently closed to public access for over 30 years. Recommendations on closure periods were discussed with public institutions and approved by the Records Advisory Panel at their quarterly meetings. The review resulted in a number of items being made accessible to the public after a reduced closure period.
In November 2008 the Archivist reviewed 80 files that, after closure periods of 30 and 100 years, were due to be opened to public access in 2009. After review and consultation with the public bodies that created the records the Archivist recommended that 78 files be opened to public access on 1 January 2009 and two files should be closed for longer periods of time under Part 5, Article (a) of the Public Records Law – Unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual. The Records Advisory Panel agreed these recommendations on 8 December 2008.
Legislative Work
In May 2008 the Archivist was asked by the Privileges and Procedures Committee to respond to the following question:
‘What is the progress on implementation of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002? What funding or staffing issues remain to be resolved? Do you perceive that the requirements for the Public Records Law and a Freedom of Information Law are closely linked?’
The Archivist sent a paper to PPC detailing the current progress under the Public Records Law, the relationship between Public Records and Freedom of Information Legislation and the funding/staffing implications for Jersey Heritage.
Records Management
In January 2008 the Archivist sent out compliance questionnaires to 50 States Departments and Administrations whose records fall under article 5 of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002. The questionnaire asked each administration to identify:
- the strategic importance of records management
- records creation procedures
- appraisal and disposal systems
- the process in place for transfer of records to the Jersey Archive
Since January 2008 the Archivist has met with or spoken to individuals from over 40 States Departments and Administrations to discuss their current compliance under the Public Records (Jersey) Law, 2002. Compliance with the law broadly falls into two categories:
- Transfer of any records identified as archives that are over 20 years old to the Jersey Archive
- Establishment of a retention schedule giving details of records currently created by each administration and identifying those records that should be transferred to the archive after a suitable period of time.
The Archivist has found that whilst many administrations have transferred at least some archival material, there are still some administrations which have yet to transfer any material over 20 years old to the archive in compliance with the Public Records Law. Of even greater concern was the fact that by January 2008 none of the 50 administrations had signed off retention schedules in place - draft schedules were in place in some administrations.
In order to comply with the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 signed off schedules should be agreed with the Archivist and put in place in each administration. The Archivist has started to work with administrations to ensure that schedules are compiled and signed off. This is however a time consuming task and with current resources at the Jersey Archive will take several years to put in place. In 2008 the Archivist agreed signed off retention schedules with four public institutions.
Historic Abuse Enquiry
The events surrounding the Haut de la Garenne enquiry have shown that it is vital for each States Administration to have transparent, accountable and well organised record keeping systems in place. The enquiry has highlighted the importance of archives as evidence and shown that their integrity is vital should they be produced in a court of law. The Jersey Archive has been a source of historic information for the States of Jersey Police over the past 12 months as they have investigated various aspects of the enquiry. The Archivist has responded to 27 separate enquiries from the States of Jersey Police and spent 44 hours compiling information in response.
The Archivist has also worked closely with the Children’s Services division of Health and Social Services throughout the year to ensure that records are appraised, listed and moved to the Jersey Archive as a secure impartial place of deposit.
In May 2008 the Archivist was asked by the Chief Minister’s Department to prepare a paper outlining additional resources required to secure historic information for a potential Committee of Inquiry into Children’s Care Homes. In September 2008 the request for additional resources went before the States of Jersey and a Service Level Agreement was signed in December. Under the agreement Jersey Heritage has agreed to appraise, catalogue and index records from key departments over a two year period. A member of staff has been appointed to assist with this work.
Staffing and Value for Money
In 2008 Jersey Heritage employed four professional staff at the Jersey Archive; the Head of Archives and Collections, two Archivists and one Conservator. The professional staff were ably assisted by two full and two part time support staff who are a vital part of the public service team.
In May 2008 the Archivist presented a paper giving details of the additional staffing required to: increase opening hours at the Jersey Archive, start to stabilise the cataloguing backlog and meet the records management duties assigned to Jersey Heritage under the Public Records Law. Additional staff costs of c.£100,000 per annum would allow considerable progress in these three key areas.
Dr James’ report compared the current service provided at Jersey Archive with comparable duties provided across two organisations in the Isle of Man. He found that ‘the combined staff of the Manx institutions is 11, but that of the Jersey Archive is currently only 7.5 (down from 11 in 2002). This imbalance is reflected in the current salaries bill of Manx National Heritage and the Manx Public Record Office amounting to some £340,000, whereas that of Jersey is only £217,000.’
Records Advisory Panel
The Records Advisory Panel met on four occasions in 2008. The current members of Panel were sworn in on 12 December 2003 and are appointed for a period not exceeding 6 years. The current Panel members’ terms are therefore due to expire in December 2009. The Archivist wishes to thank the members of the Records Advisory Panel and the staff at Jersey Heritage for their support in 2008.
2009
In 2009 the Archivist plans to continue to work with States Administrations to produce signed off retention schedules. At current staffing levels the Archivist aims to produce 3 signed off schedules by the end of the year. Archive staff will also continue to work under the Children’s Homes SLA to appraise and identify records in key departments. The Archivist also plans to write guidelines for States Administrations on the transfer of digital records to the Jersey Archive.
The Records Advisory Panel’s terms expire in December 2009 and therefore a new Panel will need to be appointed by the Minister. In 2009 the Archivist and Records Advisory Panel plan to work together to raise the profile of the services provided by the Jersey Archive.
The Archivist will continue to highlight the need for greater staffing resources to enable Jersey Heritage to carry out its functions under the Public Records Law and to meet The National Archives Standard for Records Repositories.
Conclusion
Dr James’ report and the events surrounding the historic abuse enquiry in 2008 have highlighted that it is vital for records of public bodies to be managed correctly. Dr James indicates that ‘the Victoria Climbié enquiry in England and the recent report on abuses in Scottish children’s homes have pointed out that only through the efficient management of records by public authorities can they be sure…that proper evidence is maintained for the future allowing relevant individuals to be called to account.’
The importance of the correct management of and access to public records was identified by the States of Jersey when they voted to establish the Jersey Archive and to pass the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002. Public Records are not only vital components of Government accountability they are also an integral part of our cultural heritage and provide written links with the past. The growth in family history over the past 10 years has proved that archive services are now a vital part of the community they serve and are guardians of our written heritage for future generations.
However the sustainability of the current service is in jeopardy as Dr James’ highlights; ‘The archives service in Jersey is professionally run in line with best practice from purpose-built accommodation…..The service does not however, currently have the staff resources needed to carry out the tasks allotted to it especially under the Public Records (Jersey) Law of 2002…..and lack of staff is preventing the fruits of capital investment in the building from being fully realised……At present, the service does not have the resources to meet UK national standards for staffing and access as set out in The National Archives’ Standard for Record Repositories (2004) which it aspires to meet. The Trust is conducting archival operations efficiently, but there is a growing gap between the responsibilities imposed on the service and its ability to meet them within the current financial settlement.’
Linda Romeril
Head of Archives and Collections
Jersey Heritage
24 February 2009
Appendix A
Public Institution | Accession Number | Accession Description |
Chief Minister's Department | JA/1421 | CD containing files from the Haut de la Garenne investigation from the Emergency Co-ordination Centre, 2008 |
Chief Minister's Department | JA/1463 | Chief Minister's Department collection, includes; Policy and Resources Agendas and Minutes, Chief Officer Policy Group Agendas, Informal Meetings, Policy and Resources Away Days, Bipartite Meetings, Policy and Resources Committee Officer's Group and Ministry and Government Law Drafting, c.1989-2005 |
Chief Minister's Department | JA/1472 | Chief Minister's Department additional deposit, includes; Policy and Resources general filing and correspondence, States of Jersey Service Reviews and Machinery of Government papers, c.1970s-2000s |
Children's Service | JA/1462 | Children's Services Deposit, includes; admission registers, day books and accounts of Elizabeth House/La Chasse, St Thomas' Refuge and Westaway Creche, c.1886-1998 |
Children's Service | JA/1500 | Children's Service additional deposit, includes; admission certificates to the Jersey Home for Girls, 1941-1955 |
Children’s Service | JA/1514 | Children's Service additional deposit, includes; children's green case history index sheets, c 1950s-1980s |
Customs and Immigration Service | JA/1419 | Immigration and Nationality Department additional deposit, includes; personal files of individuals and papers relating to the department, c.1941-1995 |
Customs and Immigration Service | JA/1437 | Immigration and Nationality Department additional deposit, includes; personal files number 31-7499 and microfilms of alien registration cards, c.1920s-1980s |
Driver and Vehicle Standards Department | JA/1366 | Driver and Vehicle Standards Department additional deposit, includes; registers of driving tests, 1950-1989, registers of cabs, omnibuses, charabancs and taxis, 1936-1998, police reports, 1949-1970, Traffic Committee Minutes, 1935-1946, acts, 1973-1986 and files on the DVS, vehicles and driving licences, c.1939-1988 |
Emergency Planning Officer | JA/1443 | Emergency Planning Collection, includes items from the Emergency Planning Bunker, Springfield, 20th century |
Harbours Department | JA/1408 | Harbours Department shipping and fishing boat registers, 1803 - 1930 |
Health and Social Services Department | JA/1401 | Jersey General Hospital additional deposit, includes; Endoscopy Unit Theatre and Ward Registers, 1991-2008 |
Health and Social Services Department | JA/1438 | Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health, 2008 |
Health and Social Services Department | JA/1489 | Jersey General Hospital additional deposit, includes; ward treatment books, accident and emergency registers, registers of birth by the Maternity Hospital, general filing, booklets and historical documents, c.1756-2006 |
Housing Department | JA/1429 | Housing Department collection, includes; policy register, tenants handbook, business plans and the social housing property plan, c.2007-2008 |
Jersey Airport | JA/1380 | Jersey Airport Collection, includes; plans and photographs and negatives of building work at the Jersey Airport, c.1960s-1990s |
Jersey Harbours | JA/1479 | Jersey Harbour News magazine, Autumn 2008 |
Jersey Heritage Trust | JA/1367 | Documents and photographs from the Public Works Collection kept at Elizabeth Castle regarding the Royal Jersey Militia and Military, c.1651-1918 |
Jersey Heritage Trust | JA/1404 | Jersey Heritage Trust additional deposit, includes; German orders from the German occupation, 1940-1945 |
Jersey Heritage Trust | JA/1415 | Jersey Heritage Trust additional deposit, includes, lists of contributors, papers and tapes relating to the Millennium Mosaic, 1999-2008 |
Jersey Heritage Trust | JA/1425 | Jersey Heritage Trust additional deposit, includes; postcards with drawings from the Big Draw, 2007 |
Jersey Heritage Trust | JA/1426 | Photographs, newspaper articles, programmes, negatives and books relating to Lillie Langtry, 20th century |
Jersey Heritage Trust | JA/1427 | Certificate to Captain Joshua A Balleine from the B Company of the South Regiment of the Royal Jersey Militia, 1888 |
Jersey Heritage Trust | JA/1435 | Documents relating to T B Davis, includes; certificates of discharge, correspondence and photographs, c 1884-1934 |
Jersey Heritage Trust | JA/1484 | Copy of Payne's Armorial, 1865 |
Jersey Heritage Trust | JA/1490 | Jersey Heritage Trust additional deposit, includes; plans of the restoration of Mont Orgueil, c.2000s |
Jersey Meteorological Office | JA/1315 | Jersey Meteorological Office Collection, includes; daily registers of meteorological observations, 1937-1999 |
Jersey Telecom | JA/1411 | Jersey Telecom additional deposit of a 2008 telephone directory |
Jersey Tourism | JA/1433 | Jersey Tourism, A Year in Review, 2007 |
Jersey Water | JA/1378 | Jersey Water additional deposit, includes; a file relating to wages and correspondence with the Transport and General Workers Union, 1937-1975 |
Jersey Water | JA/1449 | Papers, reports and articles relating to the St Helier's Water Works Company Limited and Jersey Water Works Company Limited, c.1869-1989 |
Judicial Greffe | JA/1365 | Judicial Greffe additional deposit, includes; Matrimonial Causes files, 1993-1996, closed curatorships, 1972-1995, court indexes, reciprocal enforcement files, petty debt and police court letters, degrevements, correspondence, evidence (proceedings in other jurisdictions) order, 1983, remise de biens and inquests, 1993-2006, c.1914-2006 |
Judicial Greffe | JA/1372 | Judicial Greffe additional deposit, includes; Jersey Judgements, 1950-1984, Jersey Law Reports, 1985-2007, Jersey Law Review, 1998-2004, c.1950-2007 |
Judicial Greffe | JA/1392 | Judicial Greffe additional deposit, includes; Matrimonial Causes Files, 1997 and legitimacy petitions, c.1970s-1990s |
Judicial Greffe | JA/1461 | Judicial Greffe additional deposit, includes; volume concerning procedures in Jersey Law and volume of named experts for the transfer of land in Jersey, c.1795-1989 |
Judicial Greffe | JA/1503 | Judicial Greffe additional deposit, includes; Matrimonial Causes Files, 1998-2000 |
Law Officers' Department | JA/1398 | Law Officers' Department additional deposit of a volume containing extracts from the Royal Court, c.1700-1800s |
Les Landes School | JA/1374 | Les Landes School additional deposit, includes; school reports, acts of the States relating to Education and a copy of a photograph of Gorey, 1899-1970 |
Office of the Lieutenant Governor | JA/1371 | Lieutenant Governor Collection additional deposit, includes; papers relating to Royal and VIP visits to Jersey, 1945-2000 |
Parish of Grouville | JA/1439 | Parish of Grouville additional deposit, includes; rate list, 2007 and electoral list, 2008 |
Parish of St Clement | JA/1447 | Electoral Roll of the Parish of St Clement, 2008 |
Parish of St Clement | JA/1476 | St Clement Rate List, 2008 |
Parish of St Clement | JA/1486 | St Clement's Parish Archive, includes; acts of the assembly, roads, rates, honorary police, welfare, licences, accounts, contracts and general papers of the parish, c.1741-1983 |
Parish of St Clement | JA/1504 | Parish of St Clement additional deposit, includes; driving licences, receipts, welfare papers, photographs, rates papers, accounts and licences, 20th century |
Parish of St Clement | JA/1511 | Parish of St Clement additional deposit, includes; parish accounts, 1960-1978 |
Parish of St John | JA/1477 | Parish of St John additional deposit, includes; photographs, driving licence applications, honorary police material, parish magazine, rate lists and electoral rolls, c.1835-2007 |
Parish of St Lawrence | JA/1383 | Parish of St Lawrence additional deposit, includes; annual financial statements, rate lists and driving licence applications, 1991-2007 and papers relating to welfare, church, liberation and elections and other subjects, c.1967-1999 and photographs |
Parish of St Lawrence | JA/1483 | St Lawrence Rate List, 2008 |
Parish of St Martin | JA/1368 | St Martin's Parish additional deposit of the rente book of John Mallet, 1875-1960 |
Parish of St Martin | JA/1375 | St Martin Parish additional deposit, includes; rates schedules, volumes relating to Don Westaway and Barreau, Poor Relief and mutations and papers relating to annual dinner dances, 1861-1996 |
Parish of St Martin | JA/1454 | Rate list for St Martin, 2008 |
Parish of St Ouen | JA/1423 | Parish of St Ouen Collection, includes; rates schedules, 1904-1967 |
Parish of St Ouen | JA/1442 | Parish of St Ouen Collection additional deposit, includes, rates schedules, 1968-1980 |
Planning and Environment | JA/1395 | Planning and Environment Department additional deposit, includes; photographs of coastal defences, 20th century |
Planning and Environment | JA/1436 | Planning and Environment Department additional deposit, includes; photographs, slides and negatives of various Jersey buildings and examples of wallpaper taken from the buildings, c.1810-2000s |
Probation Service | JA/1434 | Probation and After-Care Service Annual Report for 2007 and Business Plan for 2008 |
States Greffe | JA/1497 | Minute Books of the States of Jersey |
States Greffe | JA/1506 | States Greffe additional deposit, includes; States Committee Minute Books, Projets du Loi and correspondence, c 1837-1965 |
States of Jersey Treasury | JA/1432 | States of Jersey Treasury Financial Report and Accounts, 2007 |
Transport and Technical Services | JA/1390 | Transport and Technical Services additional deposit, includes; plans of Jersey harbours, buoys and equipment, c.1928-1980s |
Transport and Technical Services | JA/1460 | Transport and Technical Services additional deposit, includes; plans of the Island of Jersey and proposed building works, c.1921-1997 |
Trinity Parish | JA/1480 | Trinity Youth Centre Trust Incorporated records, includes; minutes, accounts, members' files and correspondence, c.1996-2007 |
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