1 November 2000
Meeting summaries
The twentieth meeting of the United Kingdom Inter-Departmental Archives Committee (IDAC) took place at the Historical Manuscripts Commission on 1 November 2000, when the following topics were considered.
Access to Archives (A2A)
Every region either had submitted or would be submitting a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
re:source
A three-year funding programme under the Comprehensive Spending Review for the period beginning 2001-2002 would be decided before the end of December.
Standard for Access
The PRO would be taking the Standard for Archival Access Services forward with the British Standards Institution (BSI). PRO, HMC, re:source and other leading archive bodies would be represented on the BSI committee.
Freedom of Information (FoI)
The Bill passed into law on 30 November 2000.
Government Policy on Archives Action Plan
The Committee discussed the draft Plan in detail and agreed that, subject to amendments, it should be published for consultation in November. The Committee acknowledged the importance of securing the commitment of the main stakeholders to implementation and of securing the resources which would allow implementation. The intention was to seek endorsement for the final Plan by Ministers in the UK Government; copies would also be sent to the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland government for information.
The proposed evaluation methods corresponded to the general approach being adopted by re:source. The National Council on Archives and the Regional Archives Councils were already undertaking this kind of investigation. Non-users of archives were to be taken into account in finalising the Plan. The following comments were made about specific objectives:
Objective 1 Access : Attention had to be paid to the needs of onsite and online users alike. Staff training (treated under objective 6) was crucial to realisation of access objectives.
Objective 2 Archives had content that was potentially most valuable to education. The DCMS Culture on Line project represented a major initiative in this area. The Society of Archivists Education Group, DfEE and BECTa would be invited to contribute.
Objective 3 The PRO would continue to lead on this objective, which related to records and archives management throughout the public sector. PRO Archive Inspection was now integrated with Records Management Department enabling it to draw on expertise in Electronic Records Management, Freedom of Information procedures and disposition policy. It could make the link between policy, standards, legislation and outcomes.
Objective 4 Private Archives: The National Council on Archives made the point that This was only section of the plan relevant to about half of the archives community.
Objective 5 Electronic Records: It should be possible for IDAC with the blessing of DETR to develop a partnership with local government in this increasingly important area.
Objective 6 The Information Resource In Archives: IDAC would try to link archives into generic training along with museums and libraries. The PRO had found training providers to be a little slow in coming forward.
re:source International Strategy
The draft document had been discussed at the re:source Board and would now be revised. There would be further consultation before publication.
Patrick Cadell had been commissioned to represent archivists at the European Union in Brussels and Strasbourg. re:source should mention Blue Shield, which was the international group concerned with risk management for cultural assets in armed conflict and natural disasters. He said that the International Council on Archives worked well with UNESCO but contacts at national level were seen as poor.
Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland devolved administration had produced an opportunity to move forward for records management. Freedom of Information (FoI) was the driving force but electronic records management would also be covered. Northern Ireland was probably moving towards new archival legislation.
Scotland
The National Archives of Scotland was planning a strategic review. The advice that FoI would require archival legislation was generally accepted. The Scottish Archives Forum had raised the question of how re:source would relate to archives in Scotland. The First Minister or his deputy would launch the Scottish Archives Network (SCAN) on 30 November. There would then be a two-year rollout. Partnership with Access to Archives had been discussed.
Wales
The memorandum of understanding between the NAW and the PRO on Welsh public records had been signed.
England
Regional Archives Councils (RACs) were continuing to develop their strategies. The chairs of the RACs had met to discuss social inclusion - best practice, initiatives the way forward. RACs were displaying energy and were developing momentum but at varying rates. The Action Plan should raise their profile. Archives were being represented on Regional Cultural Consortia but their achievements were as yet unclear. The arts and sports lobbies were powerful competition.
The RCC strategies might be out by March 2001. It was important to make sure they were sound; they had to be credible to agencies with funds.
UK
Culture on Line had been announced in September. It was to be a portal providing access to cultural riches and interactive space. It would be set up as a non-departmental public body. There would be recruitment of a talent bank, a seminar on added value and an options appraisal.
