Accounting Officer System Statement 2026

Section one: Scope of the system

1. I am the Principal Accounting Officer for The National Archives. This system statement sets out all of the accountability relationships and processes within my department, outlining where accountability sits at all levels of the system.

2. The National Archives is a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It fulfils the remit of the Public Record Office, the Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office for Public Sector Information and His Majesty’s Stationery Office. It works to secure the archival heritage of the nation. Its collection is accessible to everyone all over the world.

3. The National Archives:

• is the custodian of the public record and government’s trusted expert in managing, preserving and using information.
• provides access to and makes available more than 1,000 years of the nation’s histories and connects people and communities with the millions of stories contained in its collection.
• leads and supports the archive sector and helps archives to build and develop the skills and capacity needed to sustain the nation’s archival heritage.
• works with the academic community and others engaged in scholarly research across a broad range of disciplines to provide solutions to the major challenges facing archives, and to open up greater access to archival collections.
• brings together the skills and specialisms needed to conserve some of the oldest historic documents, as well as leading digital archive practices to manage and preserve government information past, present and future.
• plays a leading role in addressing the cross-government challenge of preserving and making accessible the digital record of government.

4. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has a statutory responsibility under the Public Records Act 1958 for the public records system and is accountable to Parliament.

5. As Principal Accounting Officer, I am personally responsible for safeguarding the public funds for which I have been given charge under HM Treasury’s Estimate, and The National Archives’ resource accounts, as listed in the Accounting Officer appointment letter.

6. This System Statement helps me ensure that I am fulfilling my responsibilities as Principal Accounting Officer, in accordance with HM Treasury’s guidance as set out in Managing Public Money. It covers my department and describes accountability for all expenditure of public money through my department’s Estimate, all public money raised as income, and the management of any shareholdings, financial investments and other publicly owned assets for which I am responsible.

7. This accountability system is in place at the date of this Statement and will continue to apply until a revised Statement is published.

Section two: Responsibilities within the core department

8. As Principal Accounting Officer, I am personally responsible for safeguarding the public funds for which I have charge, for ensuring propriety, regularity, value for money and feasibility in the handling of those public funds, and for the day-to-day operations and management of The National Archives.

9. In addition, I ensure that The National Archives is run on the basis of the standards that are set out in box 3.1 of Managing Public Money in terms of governance, decision-making and financial management.

10. The operating structure is designed with a focus on The National Archives’ strategic vision – that by 2038 we will be the living digital archive of the state – and on our corporate strategy to 2030.

11. The National Archives’ Executive Team comprises of the Chief Executive and six executive directors. It is the decision-making body of the organisation and is responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the organisation. This includes managing improvements in business and financial performance, driving innovation, transparency and efficiencies that support delivery of strategic objectives, and delivering value for money. Management information is reported to the Executive Team monthly.

12. The Executive Team is supported by several sub-committees and sub-bodies. This includes the Estates Strategy Committee, which provides assurance that the organisation is managing its sites and assets appropriately and effectively, identifying interfaces across projects, managing competing demands and priorities for space, and ensuring that all estates development activity aligns to and furthers our strategic plans, brand and culture change initiatives. It also includes a cross-functional Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) & Greening Government Commitments (GGC) Steering Committee that has been set up this year to support sustainability related resource planning, to assess and review climate risks and risk ownership, and to create actionable plans. This committee provides oversight on closing the gaps in our TCFD and GGC compliance. Advisory sub-bodies include the AI Steering Group, Departmental Security Committee and Health and Safety Committee. 

13. The National Archives’ Board is the key strategic advisory body of the organisation and comprises the Chief Executive, executive directors, the Chair of the Board and four non-executive Board members. The Board’s role is advisory and through scrutiny and challenge ensures that the leadership of The National Archives sets the strategic direction, maintains the highest standards of corporate governance, delivers statutory, corporate and business responsibilities, makes key investment, procurement and project decisions, effectively manages risk, monitors financial information, drives improvement in performance and takes responsibility for its decisions and their implementation. 

14. Supporting the Board are three sub-committees: the Audit and Risk Committee, the Finance and Performance Committee and the Nominations and Governance Committee. The Audit and Risk Committee includes an additional Independent Member and is the main assurance committee for the organisation. It supports the Chief Executive and Board members in their responsibilities for issues of risk, internal control and governance. The Finance and Performance Committee is the key oversight forum for monitoring financial and business performance information to support the delivery of strategic objectives. The Nominations and Governance Committee is the key forum for discussion of leadership development, succession planning and senior civil service pay and reward.

15. The National Archives’ internal auditors provide a third-party evaluation of the risk management, control and governance arrangements in place. The risk-based approach is agreed with the Executive Team and approved by the Audit and Risk Committee.

16. For further information on the responsibilities of the Board, its sub-committees and the Executive Team, please refer to the governance statement in The National Archives’ annual report and accounts, which can be found on our website.

Annual report and accounts 2025–26

Browse highlights from The National Archives' annual report and accounts for 2025–2026 or download the report in full.

Section three: Third party delivery partnerships

17. The National Archives uses third-party delivery partnerships to support its work as leader of the archive sector. Other organisations, such as the Archives and Records Association and the Digital Preservation Coalition, fund and deliver a range of training, support and sector development work across the archive sector. Formal agreements are mandatory for each arrangement and approval is required at Executive Director level. Progress is monitored as appropriate, depending on the length and intricacy of the agreement.

18. As a national institution, and for the purposes of lending and borrowing collection items to or from public or private bodies in the UK or abroad, The National Archives is subject to the Government Indemnity Scheme. This scheme regulates the respective responsibilities in case of damage or loss to items loaned for public benefit.

Section four: Grants to private and voluntary sector bodies

19. The National Archives provides general grants to private and voluntary sector bodies as part of its role as the government’s lead for the archive sector.

20. Funds for grant-making come in part from The National Archives’ own budget settlement, but we also administer grants schemes for the archives and heritage sectors on behalf of partners, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Wolfson Foundation and Pilgrim Trust. Over 85% of the funds we disburse are leveraged in from outside of our own core funding settlement.

21. Led by our Research, Grants and Academic Engagement department (staffed with specialists in grant funding at strategic and operational level) and governed by a grants policy (last revised in March 2025), a number of systems are in place which govern all of our grant schemes. These include systems for:

• competition design
• market engagement, with many schemes attracting a high volume of applicants and resulting in less than 10% success rates
• application and assessment, with larger grants being assessed by external panels
• due diligence, including use of the Cabinet Office’s Spotlight due diligence assessment tool
• award-making, including contracting (grant agreements are based on the Cabinet Office Model Grants Funding Agreement)
• performance monitoring and evaluation, including both qualitative and quantitative reporting with separate evaluation contractors in place for our largest programmes
• assignation and separation of responsibilities (e.g. in assessment, contract signature, verification of applicant details and payment).

22. The Senior Officer Accountable for Grants is the Chief Operating Officer, reporting to the Chief Executive as Principal Accounting Officer. The Senior Officer Responsible for Grants is the Head of Research, Grants and Academic Engagement, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer. Grant managers come from within the Research, Grants and Academic Engagement Department.

23. Grant awards are reported on the Government Grant Information System and we regularly engage with the Government Grants Management Function.

24. Our grant systems were internally audited against Government Functional Standard GovS 015: Grants in November 2024.

Section five: Major contract and outsourced services

25. The National Archives ensures value for money from its contracts through compliance with the Procurement Act 2023 and the use of Crown Commercial Service frameworks wherever possible. Contract reviews are conducted with our key suppliers, as appropriate. The National Archives procurement and contract management processes are subject to review as part of the internal audit programme.

26. The National Archives has one major contract in place, for the operation, maintenance and development of The Gazette. This is delivered as a five-year concession contract running from January 2025 to December 2029. Whilst the total estimated turnover of the concession over the contract period is £50 million, it is delivered at no cost to The National Archives. Supplier performance is managed and assured via robust contract key performance indicators and a formal governance board.