What are Places of Deposit?
Places of Deposit for public records are archive services appointed to hold specific record classes in agreement with their parent authority under Section 4 (1) of the Public Records Act (1958).
The most typical reasons for such an appointment are that:
- the records are of strong local interest and are best made available through a local archive service, or
- the creating institution is the most appropriate location for ongoing use and access to the records and so they are retained there.
Places of Deposit fall into three main categories:
- local record offices (usually borough or county archive services)
- government institutions (such as research establishments or national museums)
- specialist archives (such as university archive services or military museums)
In a small number of cases, records that are highly specialist in subject matter or in format are deposited with archive services that are best able to provide appropriate storage and access facilities.
The National Archives appoints Places of Deposit after inspection to ensure suitable arrangements are in place for the preservation of the records and access to them. We use the Archive Service Accreditation programme to ensure that Places of Deposit are maintaining standards.
Find out more about archive services that have been appointed as a Place of Deposit.
Support for Places of Deposit
We provide Places of Deposit in England and Wales with support, advice and guidance relating to the Public Records Act (1958), and recommendations for improvements to services and facilities.
We also provide wider support to Places of Deposit as part of our archives sector leadership role in England. Places of Deposit can get in touch with us at asl@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Presentations
Sometimes repositories receive a record as a presentation or gift. This is when a public record not selected for permanent preservation but nevertheless considered to be of local or specialist interest is offered to a repository under Section 3 (6) of the Public Records Act (1958). If accepted, the record loses its public record status. Any suitable repository can therefore receive a presentation, and not just a Place of Deposit.
Recipients are still expected to preserve and protect presented records and should not dispose of them without consultation with us.
Responsibilities of Places of Deposit
We can appoint a repository as a Place of Deposit under the Public Records Act (1958) to hold certain classes of public record that are not held at The National Archives. Appointment is voluntary but several general and specific responsibilities included in the Act apply to Places of Deposit through appointment, and a Place of Deposit is expected thereafter to accept accruals of those categories of record for which it has been appointed.
Suitable facilities
Places of Deposit are required to provide suitable facilities for preservation of and access to public records.
Preservation
A Place of Deposit needs to meet basic standards of preservation and professional care for the type of public record held, the size of the collection, and its use.
Storage space should be secure, with controlled access. It should address risks posed by fire, flood, pests and poor environmental conditions, and meet the essential elements of the following standards:
- BS EN 16893:2018 – Conservation of Cultural Heritage – specifications for location, construction and modification of buildings or rooms intended for the storage or use of heritage collections, and
- BS 4971:2017 – Conservation and care of archive and library collections.
Access
Secure research facilities should be provided with a reasonable level of free public access that meets user demand. Information on those public records held should be publicly available and accessible through appropriately detailed finding aids. There should also be means of copying records. The research area should be managed to mitigate any risks to the records while they are outside the secure storage.
A Place of Deposit is free to exploit the public records in its custody in the same way as it would the rest of its holdings. However, this is subject to any constraints imposed by information, intellectual property or other legislation, and to the requirement to provide free public access.
Information management
Places of Deposit must comply with legislation, notably the Freedom of Information Act (2000), the Environmental Information Regulations (2004), the UK General Data Protection Regulation, and the Data Protection Act (2018).
For records deposited with it, the Place of Deposit acts as the Data Controller regarding Freedom of Information requests. Where the records have been deposited with closure recommendations with specified Freedom of Information exemptions, the Place of Deposit carries out the same role, in consultation with the depositing body.
All records created by government bodies, including those produced under instruction for government business, are subject to Crown copyright. Crown copyright does not cease with deposit (unless the terms of deposit specifically state this) and Places of Deposit are authorised to act in The National Archives’ stead regarding applications for use of records.
There is more information on the legislative measures affecting public records on the archives sector and information management webpages of our website.
Management of public records
A Place of Deposit holding public records should be managed by suitably qualified staff.
Appointment as a Place of Deposit is for specific categories or formats of public record and a Place of Deposit is expected to accept accruals of the categories of record for which it is appointed, usually governed by the 20-year rule.
A Place of Deposit is not required to accept deposits of records for which it is not appointed. However, if the Place of Deposit wishes to expand its public record collections, it can seek appointment for additional categories of record by applying to us. Places of Deposit that are offered public records for which they are not appointed should contact Archive Sector Leadership at asl@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Places of Deposit are expected to establish and maintain good working relationships with depositing public records bodies to ensure deposits of public records are made in a timely and appropriate fashion, and that arrangements for deposit are agreed in accordance with guidance for depositing bodies. Deposits of public records should be reported to us as part of the annual accessions survey.
Depositing bodies
Under the Public Records Act (1958), public records bodies must make arrangements for the selection of records worthy of permanent preservation and transfer them to the appropriate Place of Deposit not later than twenty years after their creation.
Prior to transfer, the public records body must carry out a sensitivity review of the records and, where Freedom of Information Act (2000) or Environmental Information Regulations (2004) exemptions apply, provide the Place of Deposit with guidance as to how long the records must be closed to the public for and why. They must also prepare and catalogue the records in line with any instructions provided by the Place of Deposit.
Temporary return of records
Public records selected for preservation in a Place of Deposit remain the property of the depositing body. Places of Deposit are required to temporarily return records to the depositing body when requested to do so and if there is a justifiable business need. Such returns should only comprise those records that are specifically required – whole collections should not be returned.
The procedure should follow that set out for depositing bodies that are borrowing accessioned records held by us. Only the originating organisation (or its successor) can request records and the depositor should provide a single, named point of contact. Records should be returned to the Place of Deposit within six weeks.
Loans
Places of Deposit can temporarily loan records to other organisations for the purposes of exhibition, digitisation and conservation, following consultation with us, provided that the necessary safeguards are in place. Some loans for exhibition may need the approval of the Secretary of State if they are of national significance. Places of Deposit should get in touch with us at asl@nationalarchives.gov.uk about the procedure for loans.
Transfers
The transfer of public records between Places of Deposit (or between a Place of Deposit and The National Archives) is permitted but requires our approval, on behalf of the Secretary of State. Places of Deposit should contact us at asl@nationalarchives.gov.uk with enquiries about the transfer of records.
Disposal
The disposal, de-accessioning or destruction of public records that have been selected for permanent preservation, accessioned and are held at a Place of Deposit requires the approval of the Secretary of State and the Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives under Section 6 of the Public Records Act (1958). Places of Deposit with enquiries about the disposal or de-accessioning of public records should contact us at asl@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Significant change
Places of Deposit must report all major incidents and any significant proposals affecting archive facilities, access arrangements and the management of public records collections to us at asl@nationalarchives.gov.uk.