The Office of Public Sector Information and The National Archives are to merge
The Office of Public Sector Information and The National Archives are to merge
The National Archives and the Office of Public Sector Information are to merge in October 2006. Under the name of The National Archives, the combined organisation aims to lead on information policy and support effective delivery of records and information management across government and the wider public sector - a role which is increasingly important in a digital age.
No jobs are being lost as a result of the merger and we are confident of being able to continue a very high level of service to our customers and stakeholders.
What will change is that the new organisation will be seeking to have a stronger influence on government information policy than its constituent parts did by themselves. Behind the scenes, we plan to work to ensure that government and the public sector take information management seriously, re-use their information assets in the right way and preserve their records according to agreed standards. Because The National Archives will include the Office of Public Sector Information, this will be much easier for us to achieve than it would have been.
We also propose to reduce the four sites we currently have - Kew, the Family Records Centre and Office of Public Sector Information offices in London and Norwich - to just two (Kew and a small London office). We are consulting key stakeholders on the move of our Family Records Centre staff and services to Kew. With colleagues in the Office of Public Sector Information, we will be working out the implications in more detail of the proposed move for their staff. Please see our website for updates.
In October 2006 we will publish a full strategy statement that will build on the announcements already made and will describe our plan for the next five years. We are determined that these changes, which are very positive for both organisations, will result in better services to our customers and stakeholders, and we are keeping all parties fully informed about our plans. If you would like to find out more, please ask your usual National Archives contact, or use our online enquiry form
