Annual Report and Accounts of
The National Archives
2017-18

HC 12121

Annual Report and Accountsof
The National Archives
2017-18

Including the Annual Report of the Advisory Council on
National Records and Archives 2017-18
Annual Reports presented to Parliament pursuant
to section 1(3) of the Public Records Act 1958
Accounts presented to the House of Commons pursuant tosection 6(4) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000
Accounts presented to the House of Lords by Command of Her Majesty
Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 19 July 2018

HC 12122

This is part of a series of departmental publications which, along with the Main
Estimates 2017-18 and the document Public Expenditure: Statistical Analyses 2017,present the Government’s outturn for 2017-18 and planned expenditure for 2018-19.

© Crown copyright 2018
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0
except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit
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permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is also available on our website at: nationalarchives.gov.uk
Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us via our website.
ISBN 978-1-5286-0322-5
CCS0418428500

07/18

Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum.
Printed in the UK by the APS Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s
Stationery Office.
3

Preface
About the Annual Report and Accounts of The National Archives:
This document combines performance and financial data with analysis to help
readers better understand our work. It sets out how we spend taxpayers’ money tofulfil our remit as the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and forEngland and Wales. It covers our activities from April 2017 to March 2018
(inclusive), and is split into three main sections.
The Performance report (pages 7 to 25) includes a summary of progress and key
activities (the Performance Overview), followed by our achievements over the year
against each of the business priorities, input and impact indicators (the Performance
Analysis).
The Accountability report (pages 26 to 64) includes an introductory statement fromour Lead Non-executive Board Member, and the Directors’ report sets out ouroperating structure and transparency matters such as equality and diversity, andwhistle-blowing. It also includes:
a statement of the Accounting Officer’s responsibilities

a Governance statement on how The National Archives manages risk

a Remuneration and Staffing report setting out an open account of the pay
and benefits received by the Executive and Non-executive Members of the
Board



disclosures on pay and pensions policies, and details of staff numbers and
costs



a Parliamentary Accountability and Audit Report, allowing readers tounderstand the department’s expenditure against the money provided to it by
Parliament by examining the Statement of Parliamentary Supplya copy of the audit certificate and report made to Parliament by the Head of
the National Audit Office, setting out their opinion on the financial statements.

The Financial Statements (pages 65 to 96) outline our income and expenditure forthe financial year, the financial position of the department as of 31 March 2018, andadditional information designed to enable readers to understand these results.
Annex A (pages 97 to 103) provides a detailed Sustainability report, giving an
overview of our activities during the financial year, our progress against Greening
Government Commitments targets, and our plans for 2018-19.
Annex B (pages 104 to 113) contains the Advisory Council on National Records andArchives: 15th Annual report 2017-18, which describes the role, work actioned inyear, and details of the Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic Research.

4

Annex C (pages 114 to 117) contains the Annual Report of the Independent
Complaints Reviewer, which sets out information on the service and standards, an
overview of both the learning from complaints and customer feedback, and ofcomplaint activity and examples.

5

Contents
1.

Performance report7

1.1

Overview
Introduction
Who we are
Our audiences and the digital challenge

7
7
9
11

1.2

Performance analysis
Financial management commentary
Performance against our business priorities
Performance against our input and impact indicators
Environment and sustainability

18
18
20
22
24

2.

Accountability report

26

2.1.

Corporate governance reportStatement from the Lead Non-executive Board member
Directors’ report
Governance statement
Statement of Accounting Officer’s responsibilities

26
26
27
30
41

2.2

Remuneration and staff report

42

2.3

Parliamentary accountability and audit reportStatement of Parliamentary Supply
Core financial tables
Audit certificate and report

55
55
59
61

3.

Financial statements

65

Notes to the Departmental Resource Accounts

69

Annex A
Annex B
Annex C

Sustainability accounting and reporting
Advisory Council on National Records and Archives:
15th Annual Report 2017-18
Report of the Independent Complaints Reviewer
for 2017-18

97
104
114

6

1.

Performance Report

1.1 Overview
Introduction from the Chief Executive and Keeper
To the Right Honourable Jeremy Wright QC MP, Secretary of State for Digital,
Culture, Media and SportI am pleased to present the Annual Report and Accounts for The National Archives
2017-18. Three years ago, we published Archives Inspire our business plan which
set out what we wanted to do in order to meet the needs of our major audiences:
government, the public, the archives sector, and the academic and researchcommunities. Running through Archives Inspire is a recognition of the opportunities
and challenges offered by digital technologies. At the same time, we continue to lookoutwards, forging exciting new collaborations and partnerships with a range oforganisations and public bodies across the UK and the rest of the world.
More than ever, the public expects government to be transparent. The Public
Records Act 1958 sets out our statutory responsibility to ensure that government
departments meet their obligations around records management and preservation.
As the government’s information management expert, we further strengthened ourpartnership with the Cabinet Office under the ‘Better Information for Better
Government’ programme, driving improvements across government in managing
digital records. Transparency also means holding authority to account and we havesupported the work of a number of high profile public inquiries and panels (including
the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Orgreave Inquiry and theHillsborough Inquiry). At the same time, last year we brought in more records thanever to our collection. Over the coming months, our immediate focus includes
supporting government departments in developing their digital capacity for thetransfer of born-digital records to Kew for permanent preservation.
The National Archives is in every sense, a public institution. We take seriously our
responsibility to make the public record available to all, for everyone to engage withand learn about our truly amazing collection of historical public records dating backover a thousand years. Our online offer is a big part of this and, alongside it, ourpublic engagement programme has gone from strength to strength over the past
year. We have thrown open our doors, from our ‘Archives at Night’ events to OpenHouse, and our programme of events covering the Tudors, suffrage, the First World
War, 20th-century Britain and LGBT+ history has engaged new audiences with ourunique and fascinating records.
We know the public’s interest in our records is growing, and we are determined tomeet the demand. Since opening in July 2017, our new events space at Kew has
hosted close to 100 events, including conferences, talks and film screenings. Ouraward-winning education programme reached thousands of schoolchildren andstudents across the country, bringing our historical records – and the events theydescribe – to life. We also loaned our records to other institutions across the UK andinternationally, giving new audiences the opportunity to see our records in different
7places. Perhaps our most iconic record, Domesday, dating back nearly a thousand
years, went on display at Lincoln Castle for their ‘Battles and Dynasties’ exhibition,
enjoyed by more than 80,000 visitors across the region. Later this year, Domesday
will be loaned out again, this time to the British Library for its major ‘Anglo-Saxon
Kingdoms’ exhibition. Making our records available to as many people as possible isone of the most exciting aspects of my role as Keeper of the Public Record. Further
afield, we also loaned records to the Netherlands, France, Germany and the USA.
As the sector leader for England’s 2,500 archives, it has been a busy year. We
began to put into action the ambitions around digital capacity, resilience and impact,
set out in Archives Unlocked, the government’s strategy for archives, which our thenminister and your predecessor, Matt Hancock MP, launched in March 2017. The
value of archives to society was showcased during another successful ‘Explore Your
Archive’ campaign last year. The sector also reached a milestone with the 100tharchive service, The National Theatre Archive, securing Archive Service
Accreditation, with many more underway since.
Research is at the heart of what we do, underpinned by our status as an
Independent Research Organisation. The success of our inaugural summer lecture
series, ‘Secrets and Lies’, is testament to the public’s thirst for lively debate andrigorous scholarship. In the fifth year of our ‘Discovering Collections, Discovering
Communities’ conference, we, together with Research Libraries UK, welcomed thosefrom across the academic and archive sectors. We also continued to be at the heartof a number of exciting collaborations, including digital research, a key priority for us.
International research collaboration presents real opportunities for us, a particular
highlight being the announcement of a major research project with the University of
Oldenburg in Germany. Together, we will catalogue, transcribe and digitise the Prize
Papers collection from the 17th to the 19th centuries, making available a vast andunexplored collection of global significance available for all.
Digital remains our greatest challenge and our digital strategy, published in March
2017, sets out our direction of travel. We are leading the way in rethinking a century
or more of archival practice and, in doing so, fast becoming a digital archive byinstinct and design. Over the past year, we have reshaped ourselves to better deliver
the solutions and outcomes necessary to respond to the digital challenges we face.
We have continued to work closely with other leading national archives, including in
the USA, Canada and Australia, to share insights and learning. Our leadership roleof the Forum of National Archivists also provided an opportunity for us to drive
shared learning across national archives in the arena of digital. We continue toenhance our online services to make it easier for anyone, anywhere to access ourrecords.
As we enter the final year of this phase of Archives Inspire, there is still much to dofor our audiences, and I am confident that we will achieve much more. I would like totake this opportunity to thank everyone involved in helping us achieve what we haveso far – our staff, partners, volunteers, the Friends of The National Archives, and ofcourse, all our visitors – both online and in person at Kew.

Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper, 16 July 20188

Who we are
The National Archives is a non-ministerial department and the official archiveand publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. We work tobring together and secure the future of the public record, both digital andphysical, for future generations. Our collection is accessible to anyone all over
the world.
We are many things to many audiences:

For government, we are the custodian of the public record and trusted experts inmanaging, preserving and using information.
For the public, we provide access to more than 1,000 years of the nation’s
history and connect people and communities with the millions of stories contained inour collection.
For the archives sector, we provide leadership and support, helping archives to build
the skills and capacity needed to sustain the nation’s archival heritage.
For the academic community and others engaged in scholarly research, we offer
opportunities for working together across a broad range of disciplines – to provide
solutions to our key challenges, and to open up greater access to our collection.

9

Archives Inspire, our ambitious strategic plan, sets out how we must think andorganise ourselves differently to meet the needs of each of our major audiences, andto face our biggest challenge – digital.
Tackling the complexities that digital technology presents is at the heart of our plans.
Digital technology has changed forever what it means to be an archive, agovernment department, business or charity. It has changed how people tell theireveryday stories, and how we forever preserve the records and information thatmake up our national collection. We are creating the online and digital capacity tomeet each of our audiences’ needs, and to become a digital archive by instinct anddesign.

10

Our audiences and the digital challenge
For government, we provide expert advice and scrutiny, ensuringthat the record survives and thrives.


We accessioned an unprecedented number of public records in 2017-18: a totalof 74,551 over the course of the year. We also released a wide variety of
government records to the public:Cabinet and Prime Minister’s Office files charting the end of Margaret
Thatcher’s premiership, as well as other events from the years 1991 and1992

Nigel Lawson’s Private Office papers from his time as Chancellor of the
ExchequerForeign and Commonwealth Office files on the Spandau Allied Prison in
Berlin, and the imprisonment and death of Rudolf Hess

A collection of Colonial Office photographs, including pictures ofAlexander III and the Romanov familyCold War espionage material from the 1960s, including those charting thedefection of Kim Philby and the Profumo Affair.

 This year, we have further developed our Information Management Assessment(IMA) programme, working with government to raise standards in information
management. We also launched the online IMA Self-Assessment Tool to assist
government organisations in examining the effectiveness of their approach to
information and records management.
 As part of our legislation publishing services, we published 56 new Acts and 2,075
new Statutory Instruments on legislation.gov.uk and in print, and applied 71,239
amendments to legislation on the website. 95.5% of Acts on legislation.gov.uk are
now fully revised and up to date.
 In addition, we completed moving our legislation services to the cloud, reducing
costs over the longer term, and ensuring scalable and resilient hosting of thisinvaluable resource.
 The work leading up to the UK’s exit from the European Union presents various
challenges across government. Over the past year, we made preparations to
support government departments with pre- and post-exit legislation, including
adaptations to the drafting tools and publishing system we provide for new
legislation. This also involves the publication of the European Union (Withdrawal)
Bill, which will create new duties for the Queen’s Printer of Acts of Parliament topublish European legislation post-exit. Since July 2017, the Chief Executive andKeeper of The National Archives holds the offices of Queen’s Printer of Acts of11

Parliament, Queen’s Printer for Scotland, and Controller of Her Majesty’s
Stationery Office. We also undertook an in-depth analysis of European legislation
and associated metadata.
 We continued to support short-term bodies, such as panels, commissions, reviews
and inquiries, including the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
We provided expert advice for the management of all public records created,consulted or used during the course of IICSA’s work; as well as corresponding
advice to all associated sponsoring units to ensure the integrity, preservation andpresentation of the public record.
 We continued to drive compliance with the Public Records Act across governmentand held departments to account for their obligations under the transition to the
20-year rule. We refocused our support to government departments, delivering
online digital training and guidance, and targeted consultancy. We also developed
new methods for capturing and delivering compliance, with updated information
management report metrics, and by partnering with Crown Commercial Services
and external suppliers that deliver records transfer projects.
 We deepened our partnership with the Cabinet Office through our involvement inthe ‘Better Information for Better Government’ initiative – the response to Sir Alex
Allan’s review of the government’s strategy for managing its digital records andarchives.

For the public, we work to inspire new ways for people to use andexperience our diverse collection.
 We opened a stunning new 250-capacity event space in spring 2017, which has
since been used for film screenings, lectures, performances, conferences andchoirs. However, as we expand our on site activities, our other physical spaces
continue to provide many challenges in terms of their flexibility, their functionality
and the welcome they provide.
 We continued to address the challenge of diversifying and growing our audience
with new types of events. In addition to ‘Archives at Night’, we offered newflagship events as part of our ‘What’s On’ programme. We welcomed around 500
visitors on site as part of Open House London, and our ‘Time Travel Club’ day
launched a new series of events aimed at children and families.
 Our events programme reflected a number of significant anniversaries that
occurred over the course of 2017-18. We observed 70 years since the Partition of
British India, with activities on site and in the community. We also marked 100
years since some women were given the right to vote, with the launch of our
Suffrage 100 season of events and exhibitions, which runs throughout 2018.
 We’ve worked to broaden public engagement with our records through innovativeand creative collaborations with the likes of Combination Dance, theatre company
Bhuchar Boulevard, King’s College London and the National Trust. In addition,
one of our most treasured records, Domesday, was displayed at Lincoln Castle forthe exhibition, ‘Battles and Dynasties’.
12 We were awarded a fourth consecutive Learning Outside the Classroom Quality
Badge for our education services. We taught more than 10,000 students on site at
Kew and online, from Key Stage 1 to 5, and have continued to create and publish
online resources for teaching history.
 We continued to provide opportunities for young people to engage with ourcollections in creative ways. ‘Somme Tales’, a student animation short film basedon our First World War records, won the international MEDEA Award for Best
User Generated Content, beating over 100 entries from more than 26 countries.
We also selected a group of sixth-form art students to take part in an illustration
project. Using reformation-related documents as inspiration, they created an
innovative graphic eBook ‘The Chronicles of the Dissolution: Piety, Plunder andProtest’.
 In January, we uploaded to Discovery, our online catalogue, the first tranche ofrecords relating to Allied Prisoners of War, and civilian internees captured byGermany during the Second World War. This was a key milestone in one of ourmost complex and challenging volunteer projects to date, involving a series ofaround 190,000 open and closed records.
 We have also updated many of the services on offer to the public in our document
reading rooms. Visitors can now order more documents in advance than everbefore, and are able to download and send documents to their own devices. Take
up for this move to a paperless environment has been very high, a change formany of our users.
 Many thanks go to The Friends of The National Archives who provided financial
support for our educational, outreach and ‘What’s On’ programmes, andvolunteered their time to help deliver a number of tours and events.

For the archives sector, we are an effective leader and collaborator,and support archives of all kinds to sustain and develop theirservices.
 A key theme of our action plan to deliver Archives Unlocked, the government’s
strategic vision for archives, is improving the sector’s digital capacity, and we
successfully applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund for our new trainee programme,'Bridging the Digital Gap'. More than £720,000 will go towards recruiting 24 trainee
digital archive technicians. Though the digital skills gap is a substantial andongoing issue for archives, this successful application marks a big step towards
growing the necessary digital expertise, and in diversifying talent throughout thesector, as well as entry-routes into the profession overall.
 The past year proved difficult for many archive services. The sector as a wholefaces a challenging landscape in relation to achieving financial sustainability,
identifying new income streams, and sustaining their services. To help UK
archives catalogue and unlock the potential of their collections, we launched our
new funding programme, ‘Archives Revealed’. This programme has a total funding13

of £825,000 over three years: £300,000 from The National Archives, £300,000
from The Pilgrim Trust and £225,000 from the Wolfson Foundation.
 In addition to funding, we looked to build resilience within the sector – the second
theme of the action plan for Archives Unlocked – by supporting the developmentof 12 archive networks. These networks are vital to the sector, as they enablearchives to tackle common problems by pooling resource and expertise. We also
developed a workforce development strategy, which looks to scope and improveknowledge and skills across the sector.
 The final theme of the action plan is to ‘demonstrate the impact of archives’. To
help us achieve this, we developed a series of impact seminars relating to theambitions of Archives Unlocked – ‘Trust, Enrichment and Openness’ – to identify aset of outcomes that services can measure. We also commissioned a sector
training event, 'Measuring Impact, Exploiting Data', which will help services todemonstrate the importance of the work undertaken by the sector.
 In addition to taking tangible actions in its delivery, we also worked to embed thecore ambitions of Archives Unlocked within the sector, by forming a bespoke
communications programme and establishing effective governance by way of aboard with representation from across and beyond the sector; we are grateful tothe board members for their hard work and commitment.
 As part of our expert programme of support on the transition to the 20-year rule,
we distributed £660,000 of New Burdens funding to more than 60 local bodies
approved to hold public records, and we provided further training and guidance
nationwide.
 We collaborated with the Digital Preservation Coalition on the development of a
new digital component for the UK standard of Archive Accreditation. The
accreditation programme continues to thrive. There are now more than 100
accredited services in England and Wales.
 The ‘Explore Your Archive’ campaign, delivered in partnership with the Archives
and Records Association, was once again successful in emphasising theimportance and scope of the work done throughout the sector. During the launch
week, we trended every day on Twitter, over 28,000 tweets were sent using
campaign hashtags, and 102 archives ran a total of 189 events across thecountry.
 We launched the 'Manage Your Collections' facility for Discovery, enabling UK
archives to publish item-level collections data online, via our Discovery platform.

For academics and researchers, we are focused on advancing
knowledge through exemplary academic liaison and outstanding
interdisciplinary research.
 2017-18 presented a very challenging funding landscape for academic research.
However, we did enjoy success with a number of projects. The University ofLeicester and The National Archives were awarded an Arts and Humanities
14

Research Council (AHRC) grant of £820,000. This is for a three-year joint
research project: ‘In Their Own Write: Contesting the New Poor Law 1834-1900’,
which examines poverty in Victorian times.
 We are also a primary partner in an international research project to digitise andcatalogue the Prize Papers – around 160,000 undelivered letters seized from
captured ships in the 17th to 19th centuries. This massive project, led by The
University of Oldenburg, and funded through the Union of the German Academiesof Sciences and Humanities, will receive €9.7 million and take 20 years tocomplete.
 We offered a number of external opportunities to conduct research with us,
including a six-month Postdoctoral Research Fellowship funded by the Friends of
The National Archives. We also continued to support and facilitate PhD researchthrough our involvement in the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships andDoctoral Training Partnerships schemes.
 We continued to be pioneers of preservation and conservation research, sharing
our findings at conferences and through publication in peer-reviewed journals. We
worked closely with the British Standards Institution, the European Committee forStandardization, and the Institute of Apprenticeships on the further developmentof training and standards, regarding the conservation and storage of archival
collections.
 We deepened our collaborative relationships with Jisc and Research Libraries UK(RLUK), with new Memoranda of Understanding and the commissioning of amajor piece of work on Citation Capture, which will enable archive services to use
citation as evidence to show the value and impact of their collections.
 We also delivered the fifth annual ‘Discovering Collections, Discovering
Communities’ conference, in partnership with RLUK. The conference explored thetheme of ‘the cultural value of collections and the creative economy’, attracting
more than 430 delegates from the archives, library, museum and academic
sectors.
 An expanded academic events programme saw us deliver our first summer
lecture series (sponsored by the Friends of The National Archives and supportedby the Royal Historical Society), which hosted high-profile academic speakers andover 450 delegates.
 We redesigned our web pages, and launched a new research-focused Twitter
profile to better reflect our position as a vital resource for a multitude of academic
disciplines, as well as our burgeoning reputation as an Independent Research
Organisation.
 We developed our infrastructure and technology in order to enhance our researchcapabilities. A new Research Hub provides an on site centre for supporting
research. In addition, investment in new conservation technology enabled us tocontinue developing techniques and processes that help us to safeguard therecord.
15

 We also continued to raise our digital research profile through the development ofa series of digital experimentation workshops, helping to establish key
relationships with academic and industry partners.

Over the last few years, we have made important changes to theways we think and work in order to become a digital archive byinstinct and design.
 We know digital is our biggest organisational challenge; a challenge we share witharchives worldwide. Last year, we launched our digital strategy to address theissues of living in an ever more complex technological society. In 2017-18, webegan the process of delivering this strategy, exploring in detail the developmentof new systems for transferring and providing access to government digitalrecords.
We shared digital knowledge and expertise with archives and archivists across theworld. We presented our new practices to international audiences at the
Association of Canadian Archivists and the Archives and Records Association
conferences. We also continued to be an active and contributing member of boththe Digital Preservation Coalition and the DLM Forum, in addition to joining theOpen Preservation Foundation in early 2018; and continuing to participate in theArchives Portal Europe Foundation.

 We moved our 120-terabyte web archive to the cloud, making it one of the largest
cloud-based archives in the world. We also improved this important collection by
widening the types of records we are able to capture, preserve and present.
 We continue to find it a challenge to recruit digital expertise. However, this year, incollaboration with Ada: the National College of Digital Skills, we recruited five new
digital apprentices for a two-year programme. We also developed the knowledge
and skills of existing colleagues in key areas, including cloud computing services
and machine learning.
 We made improvements to our online services, introducing a new home page forour website and updating how we display information about records on our online
catalogue, Discovery.
 We have had to carefully manage our workload to maximise the impact of limited
resources. In addressing this challenge, we refocused our priorities to concentrateon automating and modernising our technical ways of working, helping people tohelp themselves when using our services, and making it easier for users to accessour collection.
 We developed our capability as a digital archive: replacing hardware used for our
Digital Records Infrastructure (DRI), widening the types of record we can preserveand publishing software that helps to automate the creation of metadata.
However, further investment is still needed to overcome limitations of our DRI in
instances where digital records have characteristics that we have not seen before.

16

In the longer term, we are also considering support arrangements for our ‘Dark
Archive’, where we store the records.
 We partnered with the University of Surrey on their research project, ‘Archangel’,launched in 2017. The project seeks to ensure the long-term sustainability ofdigital archives through the design, development and trialling of transformational
new distributed ledger technology.
 We maintained our commitment to PRONOM, the registry of file format
signatures, with three releases of 99 new signatures, and 91 new formats during
the year.

17

1.2 Performance analysis
Financial management commentary
Working efficiently, financial planning and saving
The National Archives’ net resource and capital outturn was £35.7m compared to abudget allocation of £36.4m. The non ring-fenced element, which is the controllable
element of our expenditure, was managed to within 2% of our allocation.
Expenditure
The total costs of delivering our remit as the official archive and publisher for the UK
Government, and for England and Wales, was £44.3m, which is below our original
budget of £45.5m.
Business as usual operating expenditure was £11.0m (2016-17: £11.5m). An
increase in business rates (total increase of £0.9m) was offset by deferral of costs
relating to a major commercial contract (decrease of £0.6m), reduced activity relating
to a cross-government project to implement a web-based legislation tool (decreaseof £0.4m) and additional savings absorbed across our major spend areas.
Our strategic plan has put digital at its heart, and this is reflected in digital net spend
increasing £0.8m between years.
Staff costs were £24.8m compared to £24.4m the previous year, reflecting thecompensations paid in-year, offset by savings generated through an in-year freeze
on recruitment. Further information on compensation payments can be found in the
Staff report on pages 49 and 52.
IncomeOperating income was £9.9m in 2017-18 (£10.8m in 2016-17). The decrease is due
to a reduction in Gazettes income (decrease of £0.6m), and reduced receipts fromour cross-government partners (decrease of £0.4m) in relation to the web-based
legislation tool referred to in the expenditure section above.
CapitalThe total capital expenditure of £1.3m is in line with our budgeted allocation, and£1.4m lower than our 2016-17 expenditure which featured our public space
programme. We recognise the need to invest in enhancements to our digital
capabilities, complete vital work on our buildings and replace key parts of ourinfrastructure and equipment, and have forecast £3.6m for 2018-19.
Annual Managed Expenditure
The Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) is £63k lower than our allocation due
primarily to a release of an onerous lease provision for office space within agovernment building in Norwich. The office space was vacated in 2015-16 but has
been re-occupied in the short term.

18

Financial position
Assets and liabilities are shown in the Statement of Financial Position on page 66.
Assets less liabilities totalled £184m as at 31 March 2018 (2016-17: £184m).
The National Archives held assets of £190m as at 31 March 2018 (2016-17: £191m).
Property, plant and equipment represented 87% of the asset value (2016-17: 87%).
Total liabilities were £6.5m as at 31 March 2018 (2016-17: £7.0m). Accruals anddeferred income accounted for £3.9m which is 60% of the value. Trade payables
increased from £0.4m to £0.5m.
Contingent Liabilities
The National Archives has no material contingent or significant liabilities to report.

19Performance against our business priorities
We will provide expert advice and scrutiny to government, ensuring
the record survives and thrives
Our goal

How we were to achieve thisHold government
departments to accountfor their record
handling, to keep thetransition to the 20-year
rule on track

In partnership with others we will Achieved
drive compliance and growcapability in government
departments by leading on,
developing and implementing
government policy on
information management
Through legislation.gov.uk
Achieved
provide expert legislation
services to government

Shape and deliver
outstanding legislative
platforms and services
which underpin the
responsibilities of the
UK Parliaments andAssemblies

Status

We will inspire the public with new ways of using and experiencing
our collection
Our goal
Develop new andexciting public
programmes andservices which rival
those of other preeminent institutions andinspire curiosity about
The National Archives
and the hidden gems in
our collection

How we were to achieve thisIdentify and engage priority
audiences through delivery ofan events and exhibitions
programme and other activities

Create a fundraising strategy
to enable The National
Archives to raise funds todeliver its objectives set out inArchives Inspire

StatusPartially achieved.
Increased numbersof attendees at
events, but thelaunch of our new
exhibition took
place in May 2018
Partially achieved.
Legal preparation to
set up The National
Archives
Foundation iscomplete, including
charitable objects
agreed, thoughvehicle yet to beregistered20

We will be an effective leader and partner for the archives sector, tosustain and develop the nation’s collection
Our goal
Influence the future
through a new strategic
approach which actively
promotes the archival
health of the nation

How we were to achieve thisIn partnership with others,deliver our responsibilities
within year one of the vision
Archives Unlocked action plan

StatusAchieved

We will advance knowledge through exemplary academic liaisonand outstanding interdisciplinary research
Our goal
Shape a programme ofworld class digital
research

Establish a renowned
research centre tocoordinate and galvanise
our long-term research
programme

How we were to achieve thisGrow our digital research
structure and capacity as partof developing a wider researchfunction, and supporting ourshift to digital
Grow our reputation forresearch and academic
engagement via a series of
new initiatives

StatusAchieved

Achieved

We will become a digital archive by design
Our goal
Lead a transformation in
how digital records aremanaged at scale, fromcreation to presentation

Meet changing customer
expectations in a digitalworld

How we were to achieve this Status
Strengthen our capability as a
Achieved
digital archive by streamlining
the transfer processes for
digital records and widening
the types of records we canpreserve
Research users’ needs andAchieved
make a prototype for a newaccess system for records

21Performance against our input and impact
indicators
Our input and impact indicators are key metrics which supplement our overall
performance as an organisation. They demonstrate our commitment to quality andeffectiveness of the priorities set out in our business plan. They are presented as
year-on-year comparisons so that we can track our progress within any given year.
To ensure The National Archives can be held accountable as it moves forward indelivering its strategic priorities, underpinned by the government’s Transparency
agenda, we also publish a number of discretionary (non-financial) indicators on our
website, which include staff engagement and diversity.

Performance against our input indicators
Input indicator
Original recordsdelivered to on siteusers

2017-18 Outcome
540,002

2016-17 Outcome
589,586

Electronic recordsdelivered to online users

245,752,112

229,927,678

50.54% (average)

49.88%

Top management women 49.71% (average)

49.23%

Black and minority ethnic

19.78% (average)

19.72%Disabled

10.35% (average)

10.36%

Staff engagement (asreported by the Civil
Service People Survey)

66%

68%

Time taken to deliver
original records toon site users

96% of documents
delivered to users
within one hour

98% of documents delivered tousers within one hour

Staff diversity1
Women

1

Staff diversity represents the average monthly percentage during 2017-18. In the comparative year the figures
represent the staff diversity as at 31 March 2017.

22

Performance against our input indicators – continued
Input indicatorTime taken to respond to
Freedom of Information,
Data Protection andEnvironmental
Information Regulation
Requests
Total departmental
spend
Staff sick absence
Outstanding effects on
legislation.gov.uk

Number of physicalrecords accessioned

2017-18 Outcome
95% of enquiries
responded
to within statutory
deadlines

2016-17 Outcome
93.2% of enquiries
responded to within
statutory deadlines£29.1 million£30.3 million

5.3 days per member ofstaff (average)
71,239 amendments
applied to primarylegislation onlegislation.gov.uk
74,551 pieces

4.5 days per member ofstaff (average)
53,000 amendments
applied to primarylegislation onlegislation.gov.uk
72,553 pieces

1,663 metres

1,492 metres

Performance against our impact indicators
Impact indicator
Web continuity2

2017-18 Outcome
Visits to the UK
Government Web
Archive
April to June 2017:
3.4 million
February to March
2018: 0.4 million

2016-17 Outcome
14.8 million visits to the
UK Government Web
Archive
7.2 million visitors to the
UK Government Web
Archive

Visitors to the UK
Government Web
Archive
April to June 2017:
1.8 million
February to March
2018: 0.4 million
Customer satisfaction
On site users
Online users
legislation.gov.uk users

94%
62%
80%

91%
62%
77%

2 The UK Government Web Archive moved to a new supplier during summer 2017. As a result, thetechnology and approach to these metrics has changed (i.e. what constitutes a visitor and visit). Thismeans that (a) we have incomplete data for the year 2017-18; and (b) April-June 2017 and March2018 are not directly comparable and should be considered separate metrics.

23Performance against our impact indicators – continued
Input indicator
Records andinformation
management services
used acrossgovernment

2017-18 Outcome
4 Information Management
Assessments completed

2016-17 Outcome
5 Information
Management
Assessments completed

6 Information Management
Assessments reports

5 Information
Management
Assessments reports

3 action plans published

5 action plans published

6 annual review reports
published

2 annual review reports
published

10 formal review meetings
undertaken

8 formal review meetings
undertaken

Further details of how we measure our performance can be found in Archives
Inspire, our four-year business plan: nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/planspolicies-performance-and-projects/our-plans/archives-inspire/ and on our
Transparency pages at: nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/transparency/

Environment and sustainability
During 2017-18, we have continued to reduce the environmental impact of ouroperations.
We achieved a 65% reduction in carbon emissions compared with the baseline yearof 2009-10, and against the government target of a 32% reduction.
In real terms, we have more than halved the energy use of the organisation, while
continuing to conserve and maintain the storage of our collection in the required
environmental conditions.
We have worked to meet and exceed our obligations under the Greening
Government Commitments3, reducing our water consumption compared with 201617. Our overall water consumption is 24% less than the 2009-10 baseline year.
We have also reduced our use of domestic flights by 51% compared with 2016-17.
For further information, please see Sustainability accounting and reporting (Annex A)on page 97.

3

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-2016-to-2020

24

We continued to support the local community in the following ways:

Maintaining our grounds and ornamental ponds on site at Kew (known as the
Pocket Park) in accordance with our biodiversity plan, as a local amenity forour staff, visitors and local residents to enjoy, open to the public from dawn
until dusk, 364 days of the year

Maintaining our site’s surface water drainage arrangements to meet our
obligations to the flood defences of the local areaCommunicating regularly with our neighbours and local residents regarding
planned maintenance and project works, including recent new developmentsin the area

Hosting quarterly Police Liaison Group meetings with the Metropolitan Police
Service Safer Neighbour team, local neighbourhood watch representatives,
residents of the Kew ward and local councillors

Hosting regular meetings, talks and presentations by the Kew Society,including annual general meetings and providing space for other local residentgroups’ community-focused activities



Membership and participation with the Richmond Chamber of CommerceLiaison with the Swan Sanctuary for monitoring the wellbeing of resident
wildfowl on our grounds



Supporting the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames’ environmental
campaign to reduce the use of single-use plastics.

Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper, 16 July 2018

25

2.

Accountability report

2.1 Corporate governance reportStatement from Lesley Cowley OBE, Lead Non-executive Board
MemberIn this, the third year of Archives Inspire, the Board continued to oversee and shapeprogress towards achieving The National Archives’ ambitions. It has been both arewarding and a challenging year as the organisation continues to realign its
workforce to better meet the needs of its audiences and to address the challenge ofdigital.
One highlight of the Board year was the launch of our commercial strategy, whichsets out how we will reshape and reprioritise our commercial offer, explore
innovative partnerships, and how we are identifying new income streams against a
backdrop of a challenging financial landscape.
The Board was pleased to oversee significant progress on meeting the priorities set
out in our digital strategy, published the previous year. Digital is the greatest
challenge facing The National Archives and, while we do not underestimate the work
ahead, at the same time we are proud of the progress made over the past year.
The Board met ten times during the financial year. One Non-executive Board
Member – Brian Gambles – left the Board in December and I would like to thankBrian for his contribution during his time on the Board. We were pleased to appoint
two new Non-Executive Board Members following the year-end, one to replace Brianand another to replace a forthcoming retirement.
We also considered how, as a Board, we can further improve how we fulfil our role,and I am confident that the Board is in a strong place to build on its work andcontinue to fulfil its role in accordance with its obligations.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff across the organisation for theircommitment, energy and support for this unique organisation as we look to the futurewith ambition and excitement.

Lesley Cowley OBE, Lead Non-executive Board Member
The National Archives’ Board, 16 July 201826

Directors’ report
About The National Archives
Our remit is summarised on pages 7 to 17 of this report.
Management and structure
During the year under review, our duties were carried out by the following
directorates and functions.
Directorate / Function
Chief Executive andKeeperWho
Jeff James,
Chief Executive andKeeperPublic Engagement

Caroline Ottaway-Searle,
Director, Public
Engagement

Operations

Paul Davies,
Operations Director

Responsible for
Our future direction andcurrent performance, andis accountable to ministers
for both. As Keeper of
Public Records andHistorical Manuscripts
Commissioner, they holdthe offices of Queen’s
Printer of Acts of
Parliament (responsible
for publishing all UK
legislation, and the official
newspapers of record, theGazette); Queen’s Printerfor Scotland andController of Her Majesty’s
Stationery Office; and theoffice of Government
Printer for Northern
IrelandOur Public Engagement
Strategy, and developing
on site, online, and remotelearning and engagement
programmes for the public
and wider educational
audiences
Our business critical
functions, including theestates and facilities,
security, IT operations,
corporate and strategicplanning, and humanresources27

Directorate / Function
Research andCollections

Who
Valerie Johnson,
Director, Research andCollections

DigitalJohn Sheridan,
Digital Director

Finance andCommercial

Neil Curtis,
Finance and Commercial
Director

Government Audience

Lucy Fletcher,
Associate Director

Responsible for
Research, academic
engagement andconservation programmes
using our collections toenhance access. For ouractive support for thearchives sector to secure
the best possible longterm future for theircollections and services
Our digital services,
enabling us to fulfil ourambition to become adigital archive by instinct
and design. To provide
strategic direction,transform our digital offer,and to shape and drive
forward our cataloguing
and web-based services
Our financial, procurement
and commercial functions,and driving thedevelopment of ourcommercial capacities in
new and innovative ways
Our offer to government,
providing expert advice
and guidance togovernment departments
and public bodies, driving
strategic compliance withstatutory obligations
including the transition to
the 20-year rule; andenabling the growth ofdigital capability for the
future preservation ofborn-digital government
records

Further information about the organisation and directorate functions can be found on
our website on Our staff web pages: nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/ourrole/transparency/our-staff/

28

The National Archives’ Board
Lesley Cowley OBE
Lead Non-executive Board MemberPeter Phippen
Non-executive Board Member

Dr Claire Feehily
Non-executive Board Member
Brian Gambles MBE
Non-executive Board Member4

Read more about our Executive Team: nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/ourrole/executive-team/ and Board Members: nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/ourrole/management-board/ on our website.
Company directorships and other significant interests held by Board Members
No company directorships or other significant interests are held by current membersof the Board that may conflict with their management responsibilities. For further
details on related party transactions see page 95.
Audit
The financial statements have been audited by the National Audit Office on behalf of
the Comptroller and Auditor General. The audit fee was £48,000 (see note 4 to theaccounts). The National Audit Office did not provide any non-audit services during
the year.
As far as the Accounting Officer is aware, there is no relevant audit information ofwhich the National Audit Office is unaware. The Accounting Officer has taken all
steps necessary to keep themselves informed of any relevant audit information andto establish that the entity’s auditors are notified of that information.
Public sector information
The National Archives has complied with the cost allocation and charging
requirements set out by HM Treasury. The National Archives is one of the public
sector bodies now brought fully within the scope of the Re-use of Public Sector
Information Regulations 2015 and has taken steps to ensure that it complies withthose Regulations, including publishing a statement of its public task.5
Reporting of personal data-related incidents
No protected personal data incidents were recorded in the department during 201718.

4 Until 31 December 2017
5 nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/what-we-do/29Governance statement
The National Archives’ Board is the main governance body of The National Archives.
It consists of the Chief Executive, five Executive Directors, one Associate Director, aLead Non-executive Board Member and three Non-executive Board Members. The
Board is attended by the Head of Strategy and Chief Executive’s Office6. Formal
Board meetings take place ten times a year; in addition, the Board typically has one
or two strategy days.
Supporting and informing the work of the Board are the Audit and Risk Committee
and the Nominations and Governance Committee.
The National Archives' Board is responsible for ensuring that the leadership of
The National Archives:

sets the strategic direction and makes strategic choices

provides leadership in the delivery of statutory, corporate and business
responsibilities

makes key investment, procurement and project decisions that withstand scrutiny



identifies and manages risks effectively



encourages improvements in performance across the organisation

takes corporate responsibility for its decisions and their implementation.

The role of Board Members is to:provide effective challenge through open debate on Board mattersensure the right information and evidence is available to make decisions, measureperformance and provide assurance

uphold the values of the organisation as well as those expressed in the Seven
Principles of Public Life.

The Board has a rolling agenda. Fixed agenda items include monthly financial
reporting, quarterly business and performance reporting and strategic risk register
review. The Board also review budget and strategic priorities and scrutinise major
procurement and policy decisions affecting the future strategic direction of The National
Archives.
Summaries of the discussions at Board meetings are available at:nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/management-board/meeting-summaries/
The Board is content that the data with which it is provided is adequate, timely andcomprehensive and there are robust arrangements for reviewing and checking data.
6 The number of Executive Directors on the Board varied between five and six during the year, and the numberof Non-executive Board members varied from two to three30

All Board Members meet formally and informally with other senior managers and may
be members of specific high-profile project and programme boards as required. We
have an active group of Non-executive Board Members who also engage closely withthe business to give strong assurance and governance.
The Board undertakes an annual review of its effectiveness, using a survey of its
members to inform in-depth discussion. This year, the Board concluded that it wasworking well, but could usefully explore further opportunities for enhanced longer-term
strategic discussion.
Challenge on performance of the Board is provided by the Non-executive Board
Members and other Board Members. In this, the Board is informed by findings of thelatest internal audit of The National Archives’ governance structures.
The Executive TeamThe Executive Team is the executive decision-making body of the organisation. It
consists of the Chief Executive and Keeper, Executive Directors and an Associate
Director. The Head of Strategy and Chief Executive's Office and/or a Deputy also
attend Executive Team meetings which are normally held weekly. The role of the
Executive Team is to:fulfil The National Archives' statutory responsibilities and deliver its strategic andbusiness prioritiesdrive and manage improvements in business and financial performancedrive innovation, transparency and efficiencies that support delivery of strategic
objectives and give value for moneyidentify high-level risks, ensuring their effective mitigation and business continuity

review and agree corporate policiesdirect and support managers to deliver key investments and major projectslead strategic staff management and resourcing.

The business of the Executive Team is managed in a way that is inclusive, regularly
inviting business updates from the staff members responsible for delivery. The
Executive Directors are responsible for cascading summaries of Executive Teambusiness to the rest of the organisation.
Informal challenge encourages staff to bring real issues to the Executive Team’s
attention. In addition, Directors attend ‘question and answer’ sessions. These events
can be chaired by a Non-executive Board Member and are usually held quarterly.
All members of staff are invited to attend and may ask any question about the runningof the organisation or current concerns. Any questions may be submitted anonymously
in order to encourage openness.

31

The Audit and Risk Committee
The Audit and Risk Committee supports the Board in its responsibilities for issues ofrisk, control and governance, and associated assurance by:

reviewing the effectiveness of the assurance framework in meeting theBoard/Accounting Officer’s assurance needsreviewing the reliability and integrity of these assurances

providing an opinion on how well the Board and the Accounting Officer aresupported in decision-taking, and in discharging their accountability obligations(particularly in respect of Financial Reporting).

The Audit and Risk Committee meets quarterly and is the main oversight committee
for the organisation. The members of the Committee comprise the Non-executive
Board Members who sit on the Board and an Independent Board Member. One Nonexecutive Board Member is specifically recruited to chair the Audit and Risk
Committee. Following a review of the terms of reference of the Committee, from May
2018 the membership of the Audit and Risk Committee will comprise the chair, one
Non-executive Board Member and the appointed independent member of the Audit
and Risk Committee. The Chief Executive and Keeper, Operations Director, Financeand Commercial Director, the Independent Audit and Risk Committee Member,
representatives from The National Archives’ internal auditors (RSM Risk Assurance
LLP) and our external auditors from the National Audit Office attend the meeting.
Traditionally, other Non-executives, Executive Directors and senior staff members may
be invited to attend particular meetings for discussion of individual agenda items or,where appropriate, as a training and development opportunity.
The Audit and Risk Committee undertakes an annual review of its effectiveness using
a self-assessment checklist enabling qualitative assessment. All members and regularattendees are invited to complete the self-assessment checklist. The Committee
considered that improvement in effectiveness could be made by making a clear
delineation in the board agenda between routine internal control updates; and morestrategic risk based discussion, to ensure sufficient focus on new risks and horizon
scanning.
The Audit and Risk Committee monitors the implementation of recommendations
made by the internal auditors, taking reports and evidence of progress as a standing
agenda item. For the reporting year, the Internal Audit annual report indicated that,considering any further enhancements to the overall framework, the Board can takeassurance that the organisation has an adequate and effective framework for risk
management, governance and internal control. The Board and management willcontinue to seek out the areas of potential weakness in the control framework and takeremedial action where necessary. The internal auditors also conduct an annual review
to follow up their recommendations, which provides further independent assurance to
the Committee. Any overdue recommendations are reported to the Executive Team in
advance of each Committee meeting, and Executive Directors may be called to appear
before the Committee to account for slippage on implementation dates. Reports fromthe internal auditors are copied to Committee members as soon as they are finalised
and the minutes of Committee meetings are circulated to Board Members.

32During 2017-18 internal audit services were provided by RSM Risk Assurance
Services LLP. 2017-18 was the fourth of a four-year programme of audit work forwhich they were contracted. A new supplier, Moore Stephens LLP, has since been
appointed to provide internal audit services from 2018-19.
The Audit and Risk Committee receives a number of regular updates during the year.
This year these included:


Recommendations from internal audits and progress on implementation ofrecommendations: the Committee received assurance that management was taking
appropriate action to fully implement internal audit recommendations or provided
business justification if implementation deadlines (which are set by the owner aspart of their management response to each recommendation) were not met.



Fraud risk assessment: this gave the Committee further assurance that The
National Archives has a good culture of fraud awareness and mitigation andhighlighted any new areas for potential fraud

Security (including information assurance, cyber security risks, and data handling):
the Committee noted that there were no significant breaches of security. It was also
given assurance that The National Archives’ performance against HMG Minimum
Security Standards, as assessed in the Departmental Security Health Check returnto the Cabinet Office, was subject to Internal Audit Scrutiny

Business Continuity Management (BCM): this gave the Committee assurance that
regular testing of systems and procedures are carried out in accordance with a Testand Exercise Plan. BCM preparedness remains high with confident and wellpractised management teams



Health and safety: this gave the Committee assurance that The National Archives
remains a safe working environment for staff, visitors and contractors, and complies
with legal requirementsEnvironment and sustainability: this gave the Committee assurance that The
National Archives was on track to meet Greening Government Commitments



Employee related risks: this gave the Committee understanding of the current
human resource risks and provided assurance that avenues for confidential
reporting within The National Archives were understood and had been tested.

In addition, the Committee received regular updates and progress reports on otherissues of particular interest. This year these included assurance on the level ofresilience currently provided to specific digital and technology services and the
management of risks and sources of assurance in relation to the development of digital
services and the delivery of the digital archive.
The Nominations and Governance Committee
The Nominations and Governance Committee is a key forum for discussion ofleadership development and succession planning, and the decision-making body for the
pay and bonuses of all The National Archives’ senior civil service staff except for the
Chief Executive and Keeper.
The Nominations and Governance Committee meets a minimum of twice a year. Pay
increases are in line with guidance provided by the Cabinet Office, who hear the33

outcome of the Review Body on Senior Salaries and set the pay policy for seniorsalaries across the civil service. The Committee ensures that there are satisfactory
systems for identifying and developing staff with high potential. It is chaired by the Lead
Non-executive Board Member and membership consists of all Non-executive Board
Members, the Chief Executive and Keeper in an advisory capacity and the Head of
Human Resources and Organisational Development provides secretarial support.
The Corporate Governance code
As a non-ministerial department, The National Archives adopts and adheres to HM
Treasury’s Corporate Governance in Central Government: Code of Good Practice 2017
to the extent that it is practical, appropriate and not incompatible with any statutory orother authoritative requirements. The National Archives periodically reviews the Board’s
effectiveness and corporate governance to ensure that it aligns with good practiceelsewhere across government – taking into account its unique role and responsibilities,
and the statutory and non-statutory roles fulfilled by its senior officials. The current
structure enables the Non-executive Board Members to challenge the Chief Executive
and Keeper and Executive Team, to clearly position it as an advisory body, and toshape the Board agenda.
Attendance of Board meetings and the Audit and Risk Committee for the Chief
Executive, Executive Directors and Non-executive Board Members
Formal Board meetings take place ten times a year. In addition, the Board typically has
one to two strategy days. The Chief Executive and Keeper, Executive Directors, andNon-executive Board Members attended the following numbers of formal Board
meetings (for which they were eligible to attend) during the year:

Name

Role

Board

Audit and Risk
Committee

Nominations
andGovernanceCommittee

Jeff James

Chief Executive
and Keeper

9 of 10

4 of 43 of 3

Neil Curtis

Finance andCommercial
Director

9 of 10

4 of 4

N/A

Paul Davies

Operations
Director

9 of 103 of 4N/A

34

Nominations
andGovernanceCommittee

Name

Role

Lucy Fletcher

Associate Director
for the Government 6 of 6
Audience

N/A

N/A

Dr Valerie
JohnsonDirector of
Research andCollections

9 of 10

N/A

N/A

Caroline
OttawaySearle7

Director of Public
Engagement

8 of 10

N/A

1 of 3

John Sheridan

Digital Director

10 of 10

N/A

N/A

Lesley Cowley
OBE

Lead Nonexecutive Board
member9 of 103 of 42 of 3Dr Claire
Feehily

Non-executive
Board member

10 of 10

4 of 47 of 73 of 33 of 3Non-executive
Brian Gambles Board member
MBE8

Board

Audit andRisk
Committee

2 of 3RobertMilburn9

Independent
Member of the
Audit and Risk
Committee

N/A

4 of 4

N/A

Peter Phippen

Non-executive
Board member

10 of 10

4 of 43 of 37 Caroline Ottaway-Searle replaced the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development to provide

secretarial support in one Nominations and Governance Committee meeting
8 Until 31 December 2017
9 Appointed 16 May 201735

Managing our risks
The National Archives has a well-established approach to the management of risk at
all levels. It encourages risk management as an enabling tool to balance risk andinnovation across the organisation.
In 2017-18, The National Archives’ risks fell under the following categories:

FinancialOperational

Reputational: general

Reputational: ministers, MPs and governmentCompliance: legalCompliance: data and information management.

The risk management strategy was reviewed in January 2018 by our Internal Auditors
and a number of recommendations were made to refine and improve processes which
we have taken on board.
The degree of risk is measured by considering likelihood and impact. To describe ourappetite for each category of risk, the Executive Team sets maximum ‘residual risk’scores based on the risk categories described above, and the Board expects that risks
at all levels in the organisation will be managed within these scores. Where a risk
exceeds its residual risk score, remedial action is taken where possible to reduce either
likelihood or impact, where it is cost-effective to do so.
The Executive Team has identified a set of strategic risks, linked to our businesspriorities and informed by internal developments, external influences and longer-term
commitments. These risks, if not managed, would compromise our ability to provide our
statutory services or diminish these services to a degree unacceptable to our users.
Each strategic risk is owned by a member of the Executive Team and they are regularly
reviewed by the Executive Team, The National Archives’ Board, and the Audit and Risk
Committee.
The National Archives’ most significant risks in terms of residual risk scores are outlined
below:The UK’s exit from the European Union: there is a risk that we fail to meet our
obligations – specifically in relation to our legislation services offer to government –leading to a lack of compliance with any associated legislation and uncertainty about thelegal and evidentiary status of the UK statute book post-exit.

36

Overview of controls in place during the year:the powers of the Queen’s Printer to publish retained legislation were confirmed
in Schedule 5 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Billeffective operational and financial planning to resource delivery of our
responsibilities

representation on the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU)
Operational Steering Board

our policy and operational expertise relating to our legislation services isembedded among government stakeholders and partners

a technical Ministerial Direction was issued, allowing legislation services to pilot
and prepare for upcoming work.

Failure to meet the challenges of digital: there is a risk that we fail to sufficiently
influence and shape the digital agenda and/or do not develop a suitably robust andscalable infrastructure and associated expertise to deliver our public task.
Overview of controls in place during the year:communication and implementation of digital strategy and supporting IT strategy

active collaboration with national and international archives to address key
challenges, for example through participation in DLM Forum, Digital Preservation
Coalition, and the Archives Portal Europe Foundation

working closely with the 'Better Information for Better Government' Cabinet Officeteam to improve current and future digital information management acrossgovernment departmentsfive digital apprentices in post within the Digital Services teamdeveloping a strong digital culture through commitment to Agile team working
and, and providing opportunities for team members to develop new skills in key
areas, for example cloud computing and machine learning.

Economy and funding: there is a risk that our commercial income and/or funding
across all audience groups fails to deliver the anticipated levels of external income.
Overview of controls in place during the year:approval and implementation of the commercial strategy

recruiting key roles to develop digital commercial products as part of ourcommercial strategy

robust approach to tendering new commercial opportunities competitively

restructuring of in-house commercial teams.

Other strategic risks considered and mitigated include:

Information management, securing the public record: there is a risk that we
do not continue to provide expert advice and scrutiny to government,
departments may fail to comply with their responsibilities under the Public
Record Act

37

Threat to archive services: There is a risk that financial constraints lead topressure on archive services



Economy and funding – a reduction in government funding: there is a riskthat new financial constraints and a reduction in funding from future Spending
Reviews could impair our ability to meet statutory and core responsibilities



Poor engagement with our audiences and failure to meet their needs: there
is a risk that failure to effectively meet our audiences' needs and/or manage their
expectations could result in our reputation and credibility being compromised bylack of trust and support from key stakeholders

Increasing security threats: there is a risk that our response to increasingly
sophisticated security threats are inadequate, resulting in disruption to business
and/or losses from our collection (both physical and digital), leading to significant
reputational damage

Staff, leadership and culture: there is a risk that continued and sustained
effects of the changes across the wider civil service risk our ability to attract andretain key skills, particularly technological and commercial, impacting our ability
to deliver Archives Inspire, our business plan

Changes to the wider government operating environment: there is a risk thatchanges to the constitutional and legislative structures of the UK, and/or
reporting lines within government, could impair our ability to deliver our statutory
and non-statutory obligations and public taskRealigning our workforce: there is a risk that we will fail to get the right people
with the right skills, in the right areas, in an appropriate timescale to meet theneeds of our major audiences and address the challenge of digital

Support for government inquiries: there is a risk that we will not be able toadequately support all government inquiries leading to a diminished capability incertain areas of government to fulfil statutory obligations.

Identifying and managing risk is not a barrier to efficiency, effectiveness or innovation,and managing our strategic risks has a minimal effect on our activities unless additional
controls need to be introduced. As far as possible, we incorporate risk mitigations into
our business as usual activities, reinforcing the message that risk management is the
responsibility of all staff.
Risks below strategic level are managed, reviewed and updated at least quarterly by the
Executive Directors and their management teams. A directorate’s risk register captures
what are considered exceptional risks. These will normally:

be finiterequire new or enhanced risk mitigation or control

be clearly linked with an organisation or service priority.

We expect that, over time, most directorate risks will be managed as ‘business as
usual’; exceptionally, directorate risks may be escalated to The National Archives’
strategic risk register. At operational level, risks are managed on a day-to-day basis.
The Executive Directors receive assurance on operational risks through six-monthly
accountability statements from their direct reports. These statements are reviewed by
the Directors and approved by the Chief Executive and Keeper. Any significant
governance or performance issues highlighted are raised with the Audit and Risk
Committee.
38Authors of accountability statements assess the maturity of risk management in theirareas of responsibility and provide evidence for their assessment. Authors are also
required to provide assurance that their staff comply with key corporate policies,
including:

information management

information security and data protectionleavers policyfraud policyanti-bribery policyconflict of interest policycomplaints policy

asset disposalroutes for confidential reporting (‘whistle-blowing’).

Short and medium-term additional governance structures are introduced for high-value
projects and programmes as appropriate.
The National Archives is satisfied that we manage and mitigate risks, and where
necessary, that we take action to contain the impact of risk. We are confident that ourrisk management approach has been comprehensive, allowing the Executive Team to
identify early, and respond to, any possible threats to the achievement of our objectives.
At a strategic level, our risks are aligned with our strategic priorities set out in Archives
Inspire, our business plan for 2015-2019, which focuses on our four main audiences(government, the public, the archives sector, and research and academia) and thechallenges and opportunities of digital records and digital services.
Ministerial direction
In accordance with HM Treasury rules, in March 2018 the Accounting Officer sought
and was granted a Ministerial direction to authorise spending on work to support the
UK’s readiness to leave the European Union from exit day, prior to the EU (Withdrawal)
Bill receiving Royal Assent next year. The Secretary of State recognised the need to
publish retained EU legislation from exit day to ensure legal certainty when the UK
leaves the European Union. This expenditure is subject to continued scrutiny to ensure
value for money.
Health and safety
Health and safety is recognised by the Chief Executive and Keeper to be fundamental in
the delivery of a safe working environment and services for staff, visitors andstakeholders. To achieve this, we are committed to the principles of effective planning,organisation and monitoring in addition to the reviewing of health and safety policies
and procedures. We monitor policy compliance, and address any resulting issues
related to health, safety and wellbeing. Our objectives and targets set out in our health39and safety policy statement are regularly reviewed. This ensures that they continue toimprove safety performance, and to help reduce work related injuries and ill health.
We have an effective, proactive Health and Safety Committee chaired by the
Operations Director. Membership comprises staff representatives across theorganisation in both operational and technical areas including, Estates, Security, Trade
Unions, Human Resources and senior management. The Committee lead and engage
with others, both internal and external, to improve workplace health and safety, provide
an effective regulatory framework, secure effective management to control risk; andreduce the likelihood of low-frequency and high-impact incidents.
We are committed to health and safety training, and run emergency evacuation
scenarios and other mandatory training for all staff. This supports increased safety
awareness, a positive attitude and continual improvements in safety performanceacross the organisation.
Health and safety activity and summary reports are presented annually to the Audit andRisk Committee, and quarterly to the Health and Safety Committee. This ensures theanalysis of trends and themes in incident reporting continues, and any resulting lessons
are identified and implemented. The policies and systems in place have enabled us todemonstrate our commitment to continual improvement in this field for the future.
Our first aid team consists of 18 volunteers who receive formal training. Our health andsafety performance continues to be of a high standard, and the number of accidents
and incidents remains at a low level.
For 2018-19, we will continue to progress management of health and safety across all
departments, with particular focus on assessing, monitoring and providing assurance
and compliance.
Following a robust recruitment campaign, we successfully appointed a full-time Safety,
Health and Environment Advisor in January 2018.
Confidential reporting (whistle-blowing)
Staff and contractors have access to The National Archives Confidential Reporting(Whistle-blowing) Policy. This provides access to the Chair of the Audit and Risk
Committee, or to the Chief Executive and Keeper, who support the individual in raising
their concerns. Staff and contractors are reminded of the policy during the year,
including how to raise concerns. During the year, no concerns were raised through thisroute.
Information risk
The National Archives continues to work hard to demonstrate that we are an exemplar
in the field of information risk within UK government.
Lapses in data security
There were no lapses in data security in The National Archives during 2017-18.

40

Statement of Accounting Officer’s responsibilities
Under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, HM Treasury has directed
The National Archives to prepare, for each financial year, resource accounts detailingthe resources acquired, held, or disposed of during the year and the use of resourcesby The National Archives during the year.
The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view ofthe state of affairs of The National Archives and of its net resource outturn, applicationof resources, changes in taxpayers’ equity and cash flows for the financial year.
In preparing the accounts, the Accounting Officer complies with the requirements of
the Government Financial Reporting Manual and in particular to:observe the Accounts Direction issued by HM Treasury including the relevant
accounting and disclosure requirements, and apply suitable accounting policies
on a consistent basis

make judgments and estimates on a reasonable basisstate whether applicable accounting standards, as set out in the Government
Financial Reporting Manual, have been followed, and disclose and explain any
material departures in the accounts



ensure that they are not aware of any relevant audit information of which theentity’s auditors are unaware, and they have taken all steps that ought to havebeen taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and toestablish that the entity’s auditors are aware of that information

confirm that the annual report and accounts as a whole are fair, balanced andunderstandable, and personal responsibility for the annual report and accounts
and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced andunderstandable

prepare the accounts on the going concern basis.

HM Treasury has appointed Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper, as Accounting
Officer of The National Archives with responsibility for preparing The National
Archives’ accounts and for transmitting them to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer, including responsibility for the propriety
and regularity of the public finances for which an Accounting Officer is answerable, for
keeping proper records and for safeguarding the Department’s assets, are set out in
the Accounting Officers’ Memorandum, issued by HM Treasury and published inManaging Public Money.

Jeff James, Accounting Officer, 16 July 201841

2.2 Remuneration and staff report
Senior civil service grades
The remuneration of senior civil servants is set by the Prime Minister following
independent advice from the Review Body on Senior Salaries. In reaching its
recommendations, the Review Body has regard to the following considerations:the need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified people toexercise their different responsibilities

regional/local variations in labour markets and their effects on the recruitment andretention of staffgovernment policies for improving public services, including the requirement on
departments to meet the output targets for the delivery of departmental services

the funds available to departments as set out in the government’s departmental
expenditure limits

government’s inflation target.

The Review Body takes account of the evidence it receives about wider economic
considerations and the affordability of its recommendations. Further information about thework of the Review Body can be found on the Office of Manpower Economics web pages
on GOV.UK10.
Service contracts
Civil service appointments are made in accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’
Recruitment Code. The Code requires appointments to be made on merit, on the basis offair and open competition, but also includes the circumstances when appointments mayotherwise be made. The Recruitment Principles published by the Civil Service
Commission specify the circumstances when appointments may be made otherwise.
Unless otherwise stated below, the officials covered by this report hold appointments thatare open-ended. Early termination, other than for misconduct, would result in theindividual receiving compensation as set out in the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.
Jeff James’ appointment as Chief Executive and Keeper was confirmed by the Ministry ofJustice on 29 July 2014 until 28 July 2018 and is extended for a further four-year termfrom the 29 July 2018 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Peter Phippen was appointed as a Non-executive Director on a three-year contract from 6
November 2012 to 5 November 2015, and further extended to 31 December 2015. He
was then appointed as a Non-executive Board Member from the 1 January 2016 on athree-year contract.
Lesley Cowley OBE and Dr Claire Feehily were appointed from 1 January 2016 as Nonexecutive Board Members on a three-year contract.
10 www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-manpower-economics

42

Brian Gambles MBE, was appointed as Non-executive Board Member from 1 January
2016 and served until 31 December 2017.
Baroness (Ros) Scott of Needham Market and Mark Richards were appointed as Nonexecutive Board Members from 21 May 2018.
Service contracts can also be terminated under the standard procedures of the Civil
Service Management Code.
Further information about the work of the Civil Service Commissioners can be found atwww.civilservicecommission.org
The Nominations and Governance Committee
The policy on remuneration of senior civil servants, and the deliberations of theNominations and Governance Committee, adhere to Cabinet Office policy, which follows
the guidance and recommendations of the Review Body on Senior Salaries.
Salary and bonuses
Salary includes: gross salary, overtime, reserved rights to London weighting or London
allowances, recruitment and retention allowances; and any other allowance to the extent
that it is subject to UK taxation. Percentage salary increases, and performance bonuses,
are agreed by the Nominations and Governance Committee in accordance with strict
guidance and parameters set each year by the Cabinet Office.
Senior staff have written objectives agreed with the Chief Executive and Keeper.
Performance against these objectives, and against The National Archives’ values, forms
the basis of their formal appraisal and subsequent pay and bonus recommendations. This
information is used by the Nominations and Governance Committee to determine pay
awards according to the Review Body on Senior Salaries’ annual recommendations.
The monetary value of benefits in kind covers any benefits provided by the Department
and treated by HM Revenue and Customs as a taxable emolument.
Bonuses are based on performance levels attained and are made as part of the appraisal
process. Bonuses paid in a year relate to performance in the preceding year. As such,bonuses reported in 2017-18 relate to performance in 2016-17 and the comparative
bonuses reported for 2016-17 relate to performance in 2015-16.
The following sections provide details of the remuneration and pension interests of themost senior officials (i.e. Board Members) of the department.

43

The salary, pension entitlements and the value of any taxable benefits in kind of the Chief
Executive and Keeper, Executive Directors, Associate Director, Non-executive Directors andNon-executive Board Members of The National Archives, were as follows (audited):11 12
2017-18

Jeff James
Chief Executive
and Keeper
Neil Curtis
Finance andCommercial
Director (from 21
November 2016)
Paul Davies
Operations
Director (from 1
June 2016)
Disclosure relates
to current role
Lucy Fletcher
Associate Director– Government
Audience.
Disclosure relates
to current role
Dr Valerie
JohnsonDirector of
Research andCollections
Caroline OttawaySearle
Director, Public
Engagement
John Sheridan
Digital Director
Carol Tullo (until
30 June 2017)
Director,
Information Policy
and Services
Peter Phippen
Non-executive
Director/Board
MemberLesley Cowley
OBE
Lead Nonexecutive Board
Member (from 1
January 2016)
Dr Claire Feehily
Non-executive
Board Member(from 1 January
2016)

2016-17

Salary and
FYE (fullyear, fulltime
equivalent)
£’000

Bonus

Benefitin kindPensionbenefits

Total

Bonus

Benefitin kindPensionbenefits

Total

£’000

Salary and
FYE (fullyear, fulltime
equivalent)
£’000

£’000

£

£’000

£’000

£

£’000

£’000

120-125--46

165-170

115-120

5-10

-

47

175-180

95-100--37130-13530-35(95-100)

-

-

13

45-50

85-90

-

-

14

100-10570-75(85-90)

-

-

19

90-95

25-30
(55-60)

-

-

11

35-40

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

80-85

-

-

40

120-125

85-90

-

-

40

120-125

85-90

5-10

-

34

130-135

85-90

0-5

-

34

125-130

80-85

-

-

26

105-110

80-85

-

-

65

145-150

20-25(95-100)

-

-

3

25-30

90-95

5-10

-

20

120-125

5-10

N/A

100

N/A

5-10

5-10

N/A

100

N/A

10-15

15-20

N/A

200

N/A

15-20

15-20

N/A

100

N/A

15-20

10-15

N/A

300

N/A

10-15

10-15

N/A

400

N/A

10-15

11 Salary and full year equivalent (FYE) are presented to the nearest £1,000. FYE is shown in brackets. Benefits inkind are presented to the nearest £100, pension benefits and total remuneration to the nearest £1,000
12 The value of pension benefits accrued during the year is calculated as (the real increase in pension multiplied by20) plus (the real increase in any lump sum) less (the contributions made by the individual). The real increases
exclude increases due to inflation or any increase or decreases due to a transfer of pension rights

44

2017-18
Salary and
FYE (fullyear, fulltime
equivalent)£’000
Brian Gambles
MBE
Non-executive
Board Member(from 1 January
2016 to 31
December 2017)
Maurice Goddard
Independent
member of the
Audit and Risk
committee (to 18
November 2016)
Robert Milburn
Independent
member of the
Audit and Risk
Committee (from16 May 2017)2016-17

Bonus

Benefitin kindPensionbenefits

Total

Bonus

Benefitin kindPensionbenefits

Total

£’000

Salary and
FYE (fullyear, fulltime
equivalent)
£’000

£’000

£

£’000

£’000

£

£’000

£’000

5-10
(10-15)

N/A

-

N/A

5-10

10-15

N/A

-

N/A

10-15

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

0-5
(5 – 10)

N/A

-

N/A

0-5

0-5
(10-15)

N/A

-

N/A

0-5

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Pay multiples (audited)Band of highest paid Director’s
remuneration (£)
Median total remuneration (£)
Ratio

2017-18120-125

2016-17125-130

30,126
4.1

28,593
4.5

Reporting bodies are required to disclose the relationship between the remuneration of
the highest-paid director in their organisation and the median remuneration of theorganisation’s workforce.
The banded remuneration of the highest-paid Executive Director in The National Archives
in the financial year 2017-18 was £120k-£125k (2016-17: £125-£130k). This was 4.1
times the median remuneration of the workforce, which was £30,126, a decrease of 0.4.
The decrease can be attributed to a decrease in staff numbers combined with higher levelvacancies at the lower grade posts compared to the prior year, together with the impact ofa bonus received in the prior year by the highest paid Director.
In both 2017-18 and 2016-17, no employees received remuneration in excess of thehighest-paid director. Remuneration ranged from £18,000-£120,000 (2016-17: £15,000£129,000).
Total remuneration includes salary, non-consolidated performance-related pay andbenefits-in-kind. It does not include severance payments, employer pension contributions
and the cash equivalent transfer of pensions.

45

Pension benefits (audited)
Name

Jeff James
Chief Executive and Keeper
Neil Curtis
Finance and Commercial
Director (from 21 November
2016)
Paul Davies
Operations Director (from 1
June 2016) Disclosure
relates to current role.
Lucy Fletcher
Associate Director –Government Audience.
Valerie Johnson, Director of
Research and Collections
Caroline Ottaway-Searle
Director, Public Engagement
John Sheridan
Digital Director
Carol Tullo (until 30 June2017), Director, Information
Policy and Services

Accrued pension
at pension age
as at 31/03/18
and related lumpsum

CETV at31/03/18

CETV at31/03/17

Real increasein CETV£000 in bands of£5,000Real increase /(decrease) in
pension andrelated lumpsum at pension
age£000 in bands of£2,500£000 tonearest £000

£000 tonearest £000

£000 to nearest
£000

5-10

2.5-5

113

80

21

0-5

0-2.5

29

7

14

20-25

0-2.5

435

393

12

5-10

0-2.5

43

38

3

15-20

2.5-5

262

219

18

20-25

0-2.5

310

268

25

15-20

0-2.5

244

218

9

20-25 plus a lumpsum of 70-75

0-2.5 plus a lumpsum of 0-2.5

530

522

2

There were no employer contributions to partnership pension accounts in respect of anyof the above.
Civil service pensions
Pension benefits are provided through the civil service pension arrangements. From 1
April 2015 a new pension scheme for civil servants was introduced – the Civil Servantsand Others Pension Scheme (CSOPS) or alpha, which provides benefits on a career
average basis with a normal pension age equal to the member’s State Pension Age (or65 if higher). From that date all newly-appointed civil servants and the majority of thosealready in service joined alpha. Prior to that date, civil servants participated in the
Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). The PCSPS has four sections: threeproviding benefits on a final salary basis (classic, premium or classic plus) with a normal
pension age of 60; and one providing benefits on a whole career basis (nuvos) with anormal pension age of 65.
These statutory arrangements are unfunded with the cost of benefits met by monies
voted by Parliament each year. Pensions payable under classic, premium, classic plus,
nuvos and alpha are increased annually in line with Pensions Increase legislation.
Existing members of the PCSPS who were within ten years of their normal pension age
on 1 April 2012 remained in the PCSPS after 1 April 2015. Those who were between ten
years and 13 years and five months from their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 willswitch into alpha sometime between 1 June 2015 and 1 February 2022. All members
who switch to alpha have their PCSPS benefits ‘banked’, with those with earlier benefits
in one of the final salary sections of the PCSPS having those benefits based on their
final salary when they leave alpha. (The pension figures quoted for officials show
pension earned in PCSPS or alpha, as appropriate. Where the official has benefits inboth the PCSPS and alpha, the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits inthe two schemes.) Members joining from October 2002 may opt for either the46

appropriate defined benefit arrangement or a ‘money purchase’ stakeholder pension
with an employer contribution (partnership pension account).
Employee contributions are salary-related and range between 4.6% and 8.05% formembers of premium, classic plus, nuvos and all other members of alpha. Benefits inclassic accrue at the rate of 1/80th of final pensionable earnings for each year ofservice. In addition, a lump sum equivalent to three years’ initial pension is payable on
retirement. For premium, benefits accrue at the rate of 1/60th of final pensionableearnings for each year of service. Unlike classic, there is no automatic lump sum.
Classic plus is essentially a hybrid with benefits for service from October 2002 worked
out as in premium. In nuvos, a member builds up a pension based on pensionableearnings during their period of scheme membership. At the end of the scheme year (31March) the member’s earned pension account is credited with 2.3% of their pensionableearnings in that scheme year and the accrued pension is uprated in line with Pensions
Increase legislation. Benefits in alpha build up in a similar way to nuvos, except that theaccrual rate is 2.32%. In all cases members may opt to give up (commute) pension for alump sum up to the limits set by the Finance Act 2004.
The partnership pension account is a stakeholder pension arrangement. The employer
makes a basic contribution of between 8% and 14.75% (depending on the age of themember) into a stakeholder pension product chosen by the employee from a panel ofproviders. The employee does not have to contribute, but where they do makecontributions, the employer will match these up to a limit of 3% of pensionable salary (inaddition to the employer’s basic contribution). Employers also contribute a further 0.5%of pensionable salary to cover the cost of centrally-provided risk benefit cover (death inservice and ill health retirement).
The accrued pension quoted is the pension the member is entitled to receive when theyreach pension age, or immediately on ceasing to be an active member of the scheme ifthey are already at or over pension age. Pension age is 60 for members of classic,
premium and classic plus, 65 for members of nuvos, and the higher of 65 or State
Pension Age for members of alpha. (The pension figures quoted for officials show
pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where the official has benefits inboth the PCSPS and alpha the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits inthe two schemes, but note that part of that pension may be payable from different ages.)
Further details about the Civil Service pension arrangements can be found at thewebsite www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk
Cash Equivalent Transfer Values
A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is the actuarially assessed capitalised valueof the pension scheme benefits accrued by a member at a particular point in time. The
benefits valued are the member’s accrued benefits and any contingent spouse’s
pension payable from the scheme. A CETV is a payment made by a pension scheme orarrangement to secure pension benefits in another pension scheme or arrangement
when the member leaves a scheme and chooses to transfer the benefits accrued in theirformer scheme. The pension figures shown relate to the benefits that the individual has
accrued as a consequence of their total membership of the pension scheme, not justtheir service in a senior capacity to which disclosure applies. CETVs are calculated inaccordance with The Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) (Amendment)
Regulations 2008 and do not take account of any actual or potential reduction tobenefits resulting from Lifetime Allowance Tax that may be due when pension benefits
are taken.
47

Real increase in CETVThis reflects the increase in accrued pension that is funded by the employer. It does notinclude the increase in accrued pension due to inflation, contributions paid by theemployee (including the value of any benefits transferred from another pension schemeor arrangement) and uses common market valuation factors for the start and end of theperiod.

48

Staff report
For the ninth year, we participated in the civil service staff engagement survey,
achieving an overall engagement score of 66% (2016-17: 68%) and retaining our status
as a civil service ‘high performer’.
We are committed to training and developing our staff. We have reviewed our learning
offer and re-launched a comprehensive programme of learning and development,
including an updated Corporate Management Development Programme, which aims toequip line managers with the skills needed to lead and develop staff. We have also run
a Career Management Programme available to all staff13, and launched the Stepping Up– Exploring Your Potential programme for aspiring managers.
The National Archives, through its senior managers, meets regularly with staff andTrade Union representatives in a number of ways, including the Whitley Council, Healthand Safety Committee, and the Equality and Diversity and Staff Forums.
The civil service-wide recruitment restrictions announced in May 2010 are still in place,which means that we have had to look at how best to use our talent across theorganisation. We also have other people and skill resource requirements on a shortterm, project-specific basis. These are fulfilled by temporary staff (see note 3 to theaccounts); this year, we were also subject to the recruitment freeze.
To meet the challenges in delivering Archives Inspire, during 2017-18, we started torealign our workforce following an in-depth analysis of our resources, to enable us toshape the future of the organisation and our talent, for the future. As part of this, weundertook a voluntary exit scheme programme, resulting in 29 staff leaving. See
Reporting of civil service and other compensation schemes – exit packages (audited) on
page 52, for further details of compensation payments.
Equality and diversity
The National Archives is committed to equal opportunities for all. Policies are in place toguard against discrimination and that there are no unfair or illegal barriers to
employment or advancement within our organisation. Suitability for employment isbased on skills, qualification and experience irrespective of race, age, gender, marital
status, disability, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs or opinions.
The National Archives follows the Civil Service Code of Practice on the Employment of
Disabled People, which aims to make sure that there is no discrimination on the groundsof disability.
We continue to encourage and support our staff, and invest in their wellbeing.

13 This included a tailored programme during the application period for voluntary exit

49

Workforce breakdown

Staff Numbers
Workforce Diversity

Sickness
Civil Service staff
engagement survey
Consultancy expenditure

Headcount
Full Time Equivalents (FTE)Black and Minority Ethnic 14
Women – Director level
Women
Disabled15
Temporary Appointments16
Days per FTE

31 March 2018
519
539
19.1%
2 of 6
50.5%
9.7%
10
5.3

31 March 2017
597
568
19.7%
3 of 7
49.9%
10.4%
19
4.5

Engagement score %66

68£’000s16

Nil

Average full-time equivalent number of persons employed (audited)
The average number of full-time equivalent persons employed during the year was as follows:
2017-18

2016-17

Permanently
employed
staff

Other
staff17

Total

Total

106

-

106

121

74

-

74

102

359
539

-

359
539

345
568

Government information
management
Preservation andprotection
Public accessTotal

14 Percentage of employees declaring an ethnicity
15 Percentage of employees declaring a disability
16 Temporary Appointments are employees appointed under Exception 1 of the Civil Service Recruitment Principles
17 ‘Other staff’ includes staff on fixed term contracts as well as agency staff and any specialist contractor

50

Senior Civil Service (SCS) by band as at 31 March

Salary band
£60,000 - £70,000£70,000 - £80,000£80,000 - £90,000£90,000 - £100,000£100,000 - £110,000£110,000 - £120,000£120,000 - £130,000

2017-18

2016-17

NumberNumber

4
1
1
6

4
2
1
7

Staff costs
Staff costs comprise (audited):
2017-18

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Sub total
Less recoveries in respect ofoutward secondments
Total net costs

2016-17

Permanently
employed
staff
£000

Other
staff
£000

Total
£000

Total
£000

19,2401,957
3,686
24,88332
32

19,272
1,957
3,686
24,915

18,9671,889
3,682
24,538

(99)

-

(99)

(94)

24,78432

24,81624,444

The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and the Civil Servant and Other Pension
Scheme (CSOPS) – known as alpha – are unfunded multi-employer defined benefit schemes
but The National Archives is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities.
The scheme actuary valued the schemes as at 31 March 2012. You can find details in the
resource accounts of the Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation atwww.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/about-us/resource-accounts
For 2017-18, employers’ contributions of £3,605k were payable to the PCSPS (2016-17:£3,594k) at one of four rates in the range 20.0% to 24.5% of pensionable earnings, based onsalary bands. The Scheme Actuary reviews employer contributions usually every four years
following a full scheme valuation. The contribution rates reflect benefits as they are accrued, notwhen the costs are actually incurred, and reflect past experience of the scheme.
Employees can opt to open a partnership pension account, a stakeholder pension with an
employer contribution. Employers’ contributions of £78k (2016-17: £85k) were paid to one ormore of the panel of three appointed stakeholder pension providers. Employer contributions are
age-related and range from 8% to 14.75% of pensionable pay. Employers also match employee
contributions up to 3% of pensionable pay. In addition, employer contributions of £3k (2016-17:51£3k) of pensionable pay, were payable to the PCSPS to cover the cost of the future provision oflump sum benefits on death in service or ill health retirement of these employees.
Contributions due to the partnership pension providers at the balance sheet date were £6k(2016-17: £7k). Contributions prepaid at that date were nil (2016-17: nil).
Reporting of civil service and other compensation schemes – exit packages (audited)
The increase in compensation payments in 2017-18 is due primarily to The National Archives
voluntary exit scheme programme, as described in the Financial management commentary on
page 18 and the Staff report on page 49 of these accounts.
Details of the compensation scheme payments, and the number of departures during the year,
and the previous year, are shown in the table below. Compensation agreed for departures havenot exceeded the Cabinet Office’s recommended cap of £95,000.
Exit package costband
< £10,000£10,000 - £24,999£25,000 - £49,999£50,000 - £99,999£100,000 - £149,999£150,000 - £200,000
Total number of exit
packages
Total resource cost2017-18
Compulsory
Other
redundancies
departures
2
11
13
5
31
-

£991,467

2
11
13
5
31

Compulsory
redundancies
22

2016-17
Other
departures3
2
5£991,467£6,835£264,046

Total

Total
2
3
2
7
£270,881

Redundancy and other departure costs have been paid in accordance with the provisions of the
Civil Service Compensation Scheme; a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act
1972, where applicable. For departures under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, exit
costs are accounted for in full in the year of departure. Where the department has agreed early
retirements, the additional costs are met by the department and not by the civil service pension
scheme. Ill-health retirement costs are met by the pension scheme and are not included in thetable.

52

The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017
(Statutory Instrument 328) report
Relevant Union officials
Number of employees who were relevant
union officials during the relevant period
12Full-time equivalent employee number
11.38

Percentage of time spent on facility time
Percentage of time
0%
1-50%
51%-99%100%

Number of employees
12-

Percentage of pay bill spent on facility time
Total cost of facility time
Total pay bill
Percentage of the total pay bill spend on
facility time

£23,463£24,816,879
0.09%

Paid trade union activities
Time spent on paid trade union activities as apercentage of total paid facility time

0%53

Review of tax arrangements of public sector appointees
Table 1: For off-payroll engagements as of 31 March 2018, for more than £245 per day
and that last longer than six months
Number of existing engagements as of 31 March 2018of which:
Number that have existed for less than one year at time of reporting
Number that have existed for between one and two years at time of reporting
Number that have existed for between two and three years at time of reporting
Number that have existed for between three and four years at time of reporting
Number that have existed for four or more years at time of reporting

0
0
0
0
0
0

Table 2: For all new off-payroll engagements, or those that reached six months induration, between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018, for more than £245 per day and thatlast longer than six monthsof which:
Number of new engagements, or those that reached six months during the period
Number assessed as caught by IR35
Number assessed as not by IR35
Of which...
Number engaged directly (via PSC contracted to department) and are on the departmental
payroll
Number of engagements reassessed for consistency/assurance purposes during the year
whom assurance has been requested but not received
Number of engagements that saw a change to IR35 status following the consistency
review

0
0
0
0
0
0

Table 3: For any off-payroll engagements of Board Members, and/or senior officials withsignificant financial responsibility, between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018
Number of off-payroll engagements of Board Members, and/or senior officials withsignificant financial responsibility, during the financial year.
Total no. of individuals on payroll and off-payroll that have been deemed ‘board members,
and/or senior officials with significant financial responsibility’, during the financial year.

0
9

54

2.3 Parliamentary accountability and audit reportStatement of Parliamentary Supply (SoPS) (audited)
In addition to the primary statements prepared under the International Financial ReportingStandards (IFRS), the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) requires The National
Archives to prepare a Statement of Parliamentary Supply (SoPS) and supporting notes to show
resource outturn against the Supply Estimate presented to Parliament, in respect of eachbudgetary control limit. The SoPS and related notes are subject to audit.
Summary of resource and capital outturn 2017-18
2017-18
Estimate

SoPS
Voted
Note
£000
Departmental Expenditure Limit- Resource
35,128
1.1- Capital
1,330
1.2
Annually Managed Expenditure- Resource(61)
1.1- Capital
1.2
Total
36,397
Total Resource
Total Capital
Total

1.1
1.2

35,0671,330
36,3972017-18
Outturn

2017-18

2016-17
OutturnNonvoted
£000

Total
£000

Voted
£000

Nonvoted
£000

Total
£000

Voted
outturncompared
with
Estimate:saving /(excess)£000-

35,1281,330

34,463
1,329-

34,463
1,329

665
1

33,308
2,711

-

(61)
36,397(124)
35,668-(124)
35,668

63
729

(149)
35,870-35,0671,330
36,39734,3391,329
35,668-34,3391,329
35,668728
1729

33,1592,711
35,8702017-18
Outturncompared with
Estimate:saving/(excess)£000
13

2016-17

Total
£000

Net cash requirement

Net cash requirement

2017-18

2017-18

SoPS
Note
3

Estimate£000
30,110Outturn£000
30,0972017-18

2017-18

2016-17

SoPS

Estimate

Outturn

Outturn

Note
1.1

£000
9,660

£000
8,968

£000
9,583

Outturn£000
30,417Administration costs

Administration costs

Figures in the areas outlined in bold are voted totals subject to Parliamentary control. In
addition, although not a separate voted limit, any breach of the administration budget will also
result in an excess vote. Explanations of variances between Estimate and outturn are given in
SoPS Note 2 (Analysis of net outturn by section) and in the Management Commentary.
The notes on pages 69 to 96 form part of these accounts.
55

Notes to the Statement of Parliamentary Supply
SOPS1. Net outturnSOPS1.1 Analysis of net resource outturn by section
2017-18
Administration

Gross
£000

Income£000

Programme

2017-18

2016-17

Outturn

Estimate

Outturn

Total
£000

Gross
£000

Income
£000

Net
£000

Total
£000

Net
Total
£000

Net TotalcomparedtoEstimate
£000

8,968

35,358(9,863)25,49534,46335,128665

33,308Net£000

Spending in Departmental Expenditure Limit- Voted

9,037

(69)

Annually Managed Expenditure- Voted
Total

-

-

-

(124)

-

(124)

(124)

(61)

63

(149)

9,037

(69)

8,968

35,234(9,863)25,37134,33935,067728

33,159Variance between outturn and estimate is attributable to the adoption of IFRS 15 Revenue fromContracts with Customers. As such, revenue from prior year commercial licensing resale
contracts was released in the current financial period.

56

SOPS1.2 Analysis of net capital outturn by section
2017-18
Outturn

Spending in Departmental Expenditure Limit- VotedAnnually Managed Expenditure- Voted
Total

Gross
£000

Income
£000

Net
£000

Net
£000

2017-18
Estimate
Net Totalcompared
with
Estimate£000

2016-17
Outturn

1,329

-

1,329

1,330

1

2,711

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,329

-

1,329

1,330

1

2,711

Net
£000

SOPS2. Reconciliation of outturn to net operating expenditure
SOPS2.1 Reconciliation of net resource outturn to net operating expenditure
SoPS

2017-18

2016-17

Note

£000

£000

1.1

34,33933,159Add income and expenditurerecognition changes under IFRS 15710-

Add capital research expenditure-

10

35,04933,169Total resource outturn in Statement of
Parliamentary Supply

Net Operating Expenditure in Statement ofComprehensive Net expenditure

IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers requires income and associated expenditurepreviously deferred/recognised under IAS 18 Revenue to be reviewed and adjusted asnecessary. The net impact of these adjustments was £710k. Further detail on accounting
treatment of The National Archives revenue streams impacted by IFRS 15 can be found in note
1.10.

57

SOPS3. Reconciliation of net resource outturn to net cash requirement
Net total outturn
compared with
Estimate:
SoPS

Estimate£000

Outturn£000

saving/(excess)£000

35,06734,339

728

1,330

1,329

1

(6,300)(6,546)

246

-

(76)

76

-

120

(120)

(48)

(48)

-

-

24

(24)

- Increase/(decrease) in receivables

-

657

(657)

- Increase/(decrease) in contract assets

-

5

(5)

- (Increase)/decrease in payables

-

558

(558)

- (Increase)/decrease in contract liabilities

-

(271)

271

61

6

55

30,11030,097

13

Resource Outturn

Note
1.1

Capital Outturn

1.2

Accruals to cash adjustments:
Adjustments to remove non-cash items- Depreciation, amortisation and impairment- Loss on disposal- New provisions and adjustments to previous
provisions- Other non-cash items
Adjustments to reflect movements in working
balances:- Increase/(decrease) in inventories- Use of provisions
Net cash requirement

Parliamentary Accountability Disclosures (audited)
Losses and special payments
There were no losses or special payments on an individual or cumulative basis that require
disclosure because of their size or nature during 2017-18 (2016-7: nil).
Remote Contingent Liabilities
In addition to contingent liabilities within the meaning of IAS 37, The National Archives also
reports liabilities for which the likelihood of a transfer of economic benefit in settlement is too
remote to meet the definition of contingent liability. In the year 2017-18 there are no remotecontingent liabilities to report (2016-17: nil).
Fees and charges
Fees and charges are disclosed in note 5a of the financial statements.

58Core financial tables18, 19
Table 1: Public spending
2012-132013-142014-152015-16

2016-172017-18

2018-192019-20

Outturn£000

Outturn£000

Outturn£000

Outturn£000

Outturn£000

Outturn
£000

Plans
£000

Plans
£000

Section A: The National Archives (DEL)

34,79933,91534,09333,94133,30834,46333,57033,570Total Resource DEL

34,79933,91534,09333,94133,30834,46333,57033,570Of which:Pay

Resource Departmental Expenditure
Limits (DEL)

24,60624,24924,957

24,841

24,444

24,816

24,58524,831

Net current procurement20
Current grants and subsidies to theprivate sector and abroad

5,207

4,481

4,217

3,286

3,099

3,093

3,725

3,479

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Depreciation
Other

4,904
82

5,133
50

5,496
(577)

5,674
140

5,616
149

6,548
6

5,200
60

5,200
60

Resource Annually Managed
Expenditure (AME)
Section B: The National Archives (AME)

(82)

(52)

577

(140)

(149)

(124)

(60)

(60)

Total Resource AME

(82)

(52)

577

(140)

(149)

(124)

(60)

(60)

Of which:
Take up of provisions

-

-

610

-

-

-

-

Release of provisions

(106)

(66)

(34)

(141)

(150)

(126)

(61)

(61)

24

14

1

1

1

2

1

1

Total Resource Budget

34,71733,86334,67033,801

33,15934,33933,51033,510Of which:
Depreciation

4,904

5,133

5,496

5,674

5,616

6,548

5,200

5,200

Other

18 The outturn numbers are based on prior year audited figures; however the core financial tables section is not

subject to the National Audit Office audit
19 Plan numbers reflect the 2016-17 to 2019-20 Spending Review settlements. The composition of the plannumbers shown are subject to change as internal plans are further developed
20 Net of income from sales of goods and services

59

Capital DEL
Section A: The National Archives (DEL)

4,456

2,018

2,007

1,122

2,711

1,329

3,470

400

Total Capital DEL

4,456

2,018

2,007

1,122

2,711

1,329

3,470

400

Of which:
Net capital procurement21

4,456

2,018

2,007

1,122

2,711

1,329

3,470

400

Total Capital Budget

4,456

2,018

2,007

1,122

2,711

1,329

3,470

400

34,26930,74831,181

29,24930,254

29,12031,78028,71034,351(82)

30,800(52)

30,604577

29,389(140)

30,403(149)

29,244(124)

31,840(60)

28,770(60)

Total departmental spending22
of which:
Total DEL
Total AME

Table 2: Administration budgets
2012-132013-142014-152015-16

2016-172017-18

Outturn£000

Outturn£000

Outturn£000

Outturn£000

Outturn£000

Outturn£000

2018-19Plans£000

2019-20
Plans£000

Section A: The National Archives (DEL)

8,489

8,570

8,660

9,097

9,583

8,968

8,500

8,500

Total administration budget

8,489

8,570

8,660

9,097

9,583

8,968

8,500

8,500

Of which:Paybill
Expenditure
Income

5,249
3,281
(41)

5,243
3,358
(31)

5,241
3,456
(37)

5,297
3,827
(27)

5,695
3,932
(44)

5,386
3,651
(69)

5,797
2,733
(30)

5,855
2,685
(40)

Administration Costs

Jeff James, Accounting Officer, 16 July 2018

21 Expenditure on tangible and intangible non-current assets net of sales
22

Total departmental spending is the sum of the resource budget and the capital budget less depreciation.
Similarly, total DEL is the sum of the resource budget DEL and capital budget DEL less depreciation in DEL, andtotal AME is the sum of resource budget AME and capital budget AME less depreciation in AME

60

Audit certificate and report
The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House ofCommons
Opinion on financial statements
I certify that I have audited the financial statements of The National Archives for theyear ended 31 March 2018 under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.
The financial statements comprise: The National Archives’ Statements ofComprehensive Net Expenditure, Financial Position, Cash Flows, Changes in
Taxpayers’ Equity; and the related notes, including the significant accounting policies.
These financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out
within them.
I have also audited the Statement of Parliamentary Supply and the related notes, andthe information in the Accountability Report that is described in that report as having
been audited.
In my opinion:the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of The National
Archives’ affairs as at 31 March 2018 and of The National Archives’ net operating
expenditure for the year then ended; andthe financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with theGovernment Resources and Accounts Act 2000 and HM Treasury directions
issued thereunder.

Opinion on regularity
In my opinion, in all material respects:

the Statement of Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against
voted Parliamentary control totals for the year ended 31 March 2018 and showsthat those totals have not been exceeded; and

the income and expenditure recorded in the financial statements have been
applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions
recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern
them.

Basis of opinions
I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs)(UK) and Practice Note 10 ‘Audit of Financial Statements of Public Sector Entities in the
United Kingdom’. My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of mycertificate. Those standards require me and my staff to comply with the Financial
Reporting Council’s Revised Ethical Standard 2016. I am independent of The National
Archives in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to my audit andthe financial statements in the UK. My staff and I have fulfilled our other ethical61

responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. I believe that the audit evidence
I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion.
Responsibilities of the Accounting Officer for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities, the
Accounting Officer is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and forbeing satisfied that they give a true and fair view.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
My responsibility is to audit, certify and report on the financial statements in accordancewith the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are freefrom material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. Reasonable assurance isa high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordancewith ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements
can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in theaggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions ofusers taken on the basis of these financial statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), I exercise professional judgment andmaintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. I also:identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements,
whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive tothose risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide
a basis for my opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting
from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve
collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override ofinternal control.

obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design
audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the
purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of The National Archives’internal control.

evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and thereasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made bymanagement.

conclude on the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern
basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether amaterial uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may castsignificant doubt on The National Archives’ ability to continue as a going concern.
If I conclude that a material uncertainty exists, I am required to draw attention in
my auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if
such disclosures are inadequate, to modify my opinion. My conclusions are
based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of my auditor’s report.

62

However, future events or conditions may cause the entity to cease to continue
as a going concern.
evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial
statements, including the disclosures, and whether the consolidated financial
statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that
achieves fair presentation.

I communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, theplanned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any
significant deficiencies in internal control that I identify during my audit.
I am required to obtain evidence sufficient to give reasonable assurance that theStatement of Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against voted
Parliamentary control totals and that those totals have not been exceeded. The voted
Parliamentary control totals are Departmental Expenditure Limits (Resource andCapital), Annually Managed Expenditure (Resource and Capital), Non-Budget(Resource) and Net Cash Requirement. I am also required to obtain evidence sufficient
to give reasonable assurance that the expenditure and income recorded in the financial
statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financialtransactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities whichgovern them.
Other Information
The Accounting Officer is responsible for the other information. The other information
comprises information included in the annual report, other than the parts of the
Accountability Report described in that report as having been audited, the financial
statements and my auditor’s report thereon. My opinion on the financial statements
does not cover the other information and I do not express any form of assurance
conclusion thereon.
In connection with my audit of the financial statements, my responsibility is to read theother information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materiallyinconsistent with the financial statements or my knowledge obtained in the audit orotherwise appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work I have performed, I
conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, I am required toreport that fact. I have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinion on other matters
In my opinion:the parts of the Accountability Report to be audited have been properly preparedin accordance with HM Treasury directions made under the Government
Resources and Accounts Act 2000;



in the light of the knowledge and understanding of The National Archives and its
environment obtained in the course of the audit, I have not identified any material
misstatements in the Performance Report or the Accountability Report; and63

the information given in the Performance and Accountability Reports for thefinancial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent withthe financial statements

Matters on which I report by exception
I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters which I report to you if, in myopinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for myaudit have not been received from branches not visited by my staff; or

the financial statements and the parts of the Accountability Report to be audited
are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; orI have not received all of the information and explanations I require for my audit;or

the Governance Statement does not reflect compliance with HM Treasury’s
guidance.

ReportI have no observations to make on these financial statements.

Sir Amyas C E Morse
Comptroller and Auditor General
National Audit Office157-197 Buckingham Palace Road
Victoria
LondonSW1W 9SP
17 July 201864

3. Financial statements
Accounts summary
Statement of Comprehensive Net ExpenditureThis account summarises the expenditure and income generated and consumed on an
accruals basis. It also includes other comprehensive income and expenditure, which
includes changes to the values on non-current assets and other financial instrumentsthat cannot yet be recognised as income or expenditure.
for the year ended 31 March 2018

Income from sale of goods and services

2017-18

2016-17

Note

£000

£000

5

(9,295)(10,776)(9,295)(10,776)
24,444

Total operating income
Staff costs

3

24,816

Depreciation and impairment charges

4

6,548

5,616

Other operating expenditure

4

12,98013,885

Total operating expenditure

44,34443,945

Net operating expenditure

35,04933,169Other comprehensive net expenditure
Items which will not be reclassified to net operating costs:- Net gain on revaluation of property, plant and equipment

6(4,273)(15,228)- Net (gain)/loss on revaluation of intangible assets

7479(2,469)2

131,257

15,473- Receipt of donated asset
Comprehensive net operating expenditure for the year

IFRS 15 is applied using the cumulative effect method. Under this method, thecomparative information is not restated. See note 1.3.
The notes on pages 69 to 96 form part of these accounts.

65

Statement of Financial Position
This statement presents the financial position of The National Archives. It comprises
three main components: assets owned or controlled; liabilities owed to other bodies;and equity, the remaining value of the entity.
as at 31 March 2018
31 March 2018

31 March 2017

Note

£000

£000

£000

6

165,677

166,581

Intangible assets

7

20,841

21,438Prepayments and accrued income

12

237

£000

Non-current assets:
Property, plant and equipment

Total non-current assets

198
186,755

188,217

Current assets:
Inventories

106

82

5

-

Contract assets

14

Trade and other receivables

12

311

323

Other current assets

12

3,083

2,453

Cash and cash equivalents

11

13

Total current assets
Total assets

5
3,518

2,863

190,273

191,080

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables

13

(468)

Contract liabilities

14

(271)

(357)
-

Provisions

15

(13)

(12)

Other liabilities

13(4,797)(5,654)

Total current liabilities(5,549)(6,023)

Total assets less current liabilities

184,724

185,057

Non-current liabilities:
Other liabilities

13

(800)

Provisions

15

(198)

(604)
(325)

Total non-current liabilities

(998)

(929)

Total assets less liabilities

183,726

184,128

60,12362,032

Taxpayers' equity and other reserves:
General fundDonated asset reserve

5

7

Revaluation reserve

123,598

122,089

Total equity

183,726

184,128IFRS 15 is applied using the cumulative effect method. Under this method thecomparative information is not restated. See note 1.3.
The notes on pages 69 to 96 form part of these accounts.
Jeff James, Accounting Officer, 16 July 2018

66

Statement of Cash Flowsfor the year ended 31 March 2018
The Statement of Cash Flows shows the changes in cash and cash equivalents of thedepartment during the reporting period. The statement shows how the department
generates and uses cash and cash equivalents by classifying cash flows as operating,investing and financing activities. The amount of net cash flows arising from operating
activities is a key indicator of service costs and the extent to which these operations are
funded by way of income from the recipients of services provided by the department.
Investing activities represent the extent to which cash inflows and outflows have been
made for resources which are intended to contribute to the departments’ future public
service delivery.

Note2017-18

2016-17

£000

£000

(35,049)(33,169)

6,531

5,561

(4)

-

Cash flows from operating activities
Net operating cost
Adjustments for non-cash transactions
Adjustment for gain on disposal(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables

12

(657)

784

(Increase)/decrease in contract assets

14

(5)

-

(24)

12

(Increase)/decrease in inventories
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables

13

(550)

(875)

Increase/(decrease) in contract liabilities

14

271

-

less movements in payables relating to items not passing
through the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure(8)

6less movements in opening balance relating to items not
passing through the Statement of Comprehensive Net
Expenditure710-

less movements in fixed assets relating to items not passing
through the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure

19

-

(6)

(35)

(28,772)(27,716)(1,329)(2,468)Use of provisions

15

Net cash outflow from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment

6

Purchase of intangible assets

7

-

(233)

4

-

(1,325)(2,701)

30,10530,411--

30,10530,411

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents inthe period before adjustment for receipts and payments to
the Consolidated Fund

8

(6)

Payments of amounts due to the Consolidated Fund--

Proceeds of disposal of property, plant and equipment
Net cash outflow from investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
From the Consolidated Fund (Supply) - current year
Payment of Consolidated Fund Extra Receipts
Net financing

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period

11

5

11

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period

11

13

5

67

IFRS 15 is applied using the cumulative effect method. Under this method thecomparative information is not restated. See note 1.3. The notes on pages 69 to 96
form part of these accounts.

Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity
for the year ended 31 March 2018
This statement shows the movement in the year on the different reserves held,
analysed into general fund reserves (i.e. those reserves that reflect a contribution fromthe Consolidated Fund). The Revaluation Reserve reflects the change in asset values
that have not been recognised as income or expenditure. The General Fund represents
the total assets less liabilities of a department, to the extent that the total is not
represented by other reserves and financing items.
GeneralFund

Revaluation
Reserve

DonatedAsset
Reserve

Taxpayers’
equity

£000

£000

£000

£000

Balance at 31 March 2016

62,924106,2048

169,136

Net Parliamentary funding

30,417--30,417

Comprehensive net expenditure for the year

(33,169)

17,697(1)(15,473)

Note

Auditor’s remuneration

48

-

-

48

Transfers between reserves

1,812(1,812)--

Balance at 31 March 2017

62,032122,0897

184,128

Balance at 1 April 2017

62,032122,0897

184,128

Impact of change in accounting policy

710

-

-

710

Adjusted balance at 1 April 2017

62,742122,0897

184,838

Net Parliamentary funding

30,097--30,097

Comprehensive net expenditure for the year

(35,049)

3,794

(2)

(31,257)

Auditor’s remuneration

4

48

-

-

48

Transfers between reserves

4

2,285

(2,285)--

Balance at 31 March 201860,123

123,5985

183,726IFRS 15 is applied using the cumulative effect method. Under this method thecomparative information is not restated. See note 1.3
The notes on pages 69 to 96 form part of these accounts.

68Notes to the Departmental Resource Accounts
1.

Statement of accounting policies

1.1

Basis of accounting

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the 2017-18
Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) issued by HM Treasury. This is withthe exception of revenue accounted for under IAS 18 Revenue and/or related
interpretations that have been superseded by IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with
Customers, for which HM Treasury have approved early adoption. For such revenue,
The National Archives applies the accounting principles and disclosure requirements of
IFRS 15 as adapted and interpreted in the 2018-19 FReM. The accounting policies
contained in the FReM apply International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as
adapted or interpreted by the FReM.
Where the FReM permits a choice of accounting policy, the accounting policy that isjudged to be most appropriate to the particular circumstances of The National Archives
for the purpose of giving a true and fair view has been selected. The particular policies
adopted by The National Archives are described below. They have been appliedconsistently in dealing with items considered material in relation to the accounts.
In addition to the primary statements prepared under IFRS, the FReM also requires thedepartment to prepare an additional primary statement. The Statement of Parliamentary
Supply and supporting notes show outturn against Estimate in terms of the net resource
requirement and the net cash requirement.
1.2

Accounting convention

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention modified toaccount for any material revaluation of assets and liabilities to fair value in accordancewith the standards, and subject to interpretations and adaptions of those standards
contained in the FReM.
1.3

New and revised International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)Standards issued and adopted
Except for the change below, The National Archives has consistently applied theaccounting policies to all periods presented in these financial statements.
The National Archives has early adopted IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with
Customers with a date of initial application of 1 April 2017. As a result, The National
Archives has changed its accounting policy for revenue recognition as detailed below.
The National Archives has applied IFRS 15 using the cumulative effect method i.e. byrecognising the cumulative effect of initially applying IFRS15 as an adjustment to the
opening balance of equity at 1 April 2017. Therefore, the comparative information has
not been restated and continues to be reported under IAS 18.

69

Significant revenue stream recognition changes as a result of the newly adopted
accounting policy include a deferral of income from a software development contractthat would be recognised in year under IAS 18 of £1m (associated costs deferred£630k) and recognition of lump sum payments for licensing resales that were deferredunder IAS 18 Revenue.
The following tables summarise the impacts of adopting IFRS 15 on the 31 March 2018
financial reports.
Statement of Financial Position:
for the year ended 31 March 2018
Impact of changing accounting policy
Balanceswithout
As reported
Adjustments
adoption of
£000
£000
IFRS15£000
Non-current assets:
Property, plant and equipment

165,677-

165,677

Intangible assets

20,841-

20,841

237

-

237

186,755-

186,755

106

-

106

5

(5)

-

311

-

311

3,083

196

3,279

13

-

13

3,518

191

3,709

190,273

191

190,464(468)

Prepayments and accrued income
Current assets:
Inventories
Contract assets
Trade and other receivables
Other current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Total current assets
Total assets
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables

(468)

-

Contract liabilities

(271)

271

-

Provisions

(13)

-

(13)

Other liabilities(4,797)(286)(5,083)

Total current liabilities(5,549)(15)(5,564)

Total assets less current liabilities

184,724

176

184,900

Other liabilities

(800)

(406)

(1,206)

Provisions

(198)

-

(198)

Total non-current liabilities

(998)

(406)

(1,404)

Total assets less liabilities

183,726(230)

183,496

60,123(230)

59,8935-

5

Revaluation reserve

123,598-

123,598

Total equity

183,726(230)

183,496

Non-current liabilities:

Taxpayers' equity and other reserves:
General fundDonated asset reserve70Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure
for the year ended 31 March 2018
Impact of changing accounting policy

As reported£000

Adjustments£000

Balanceswithout
adoption of
IFRS15£000

Income from sale of goods and services(9,295)(129)(9,424)

Total operating income(9,295)(129)(9,424)

Staff costs

24,816-

24,816

Depreciation and impairment charges

6,548

-

6,548

Other operating expenditure
Total operating expenditure
Net operating expenditure

12,98044,34435,049

415
415
286

13,39544,75935,335

Statement of Cash Flowsfor the year ended 31 March 2018
Impact of changing accounting policy

As reported£000

Adjustments£000

Balanceswithout
adoption of
IFRS15£000(35,049)(286)(35,335)

6,531

-

6,531

(4)

-

(4)
(853)

Cash flows from operating activities
Net operating cost
Adjustments for non-cash transactions
Adjustments for gain on disposal(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables

(657)

(196)

(Increase)/decrease in contract assets

(5)

5

-

(Increase)/decrease in inventories

(24)

-

(24)

Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables

(550)

692

142

Increase/(decrease) in contract liabilities
less movements in payables relating to items not passing through theStatement of Comprehensive Net Expenditureless movements in opening balance relating to items not passing throughthe Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure
Add release of IFRS15 adjustment
less movements in fixed assets relating to items not passing through theStatement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure
Use of provisions
Net cash outflow from operating activities

271

(271)

-

(8)

-

(8)

710

(710)

-

-

766

766

19

-

19

(6)
(28,772)-(6)(28,772)(1,329)-(1,329)4-

4(1,325)-(1,325)30,10530,105-30,10530,1058-

8

Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds of disposal of property, plant and equipment
Net cash outflow from investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
From the Consolidated Fund (Supply) - current year
Payment of Consolidated Fund Extra Receipts
Net financing
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the period
before adjustment for receipts and payments to the Consolidated
Fund
Payments of amounts due to the Consolidated Fund

-

-

-

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period

5

-

5

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period

13

-

13

71

Standards issued but not effective
Certain new standards, interpretations and amendments to existing standards havebeen published that The National Archives will be required to apply on or after 1 April
2018 or later periods, following EU-adoption and as applied by the FReM. Thesestandards are not expected to have a material impact on The National Archives’ futureaccounts. They are as follows:

1.4



IFRS 9 Financial Instruments will replace IAS39 Financial Instruments:
Recognition and Measurement, and is expected to simplify and improve reportingof financial instruments. This standard is not expected to have a material impact
on The National Archives’ future accounts.



IFRS 16 Leases specifies how an IFRS reporter will recognise, measure, present
and disclose leases. This standard is likely to result in an increase in contracts
with suppliers identified as leases.
Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment other than land and buildings consist of plant andmachinery, furniture and fittings, transport, equipment, and information andcommunication technology. Expenditure on restoration and conservation work is part of
the normal operating costs of The National Archives and is not capitalised. It is recorded
as part of programme costs.
The National Archives building and grounds at Kew are freehold property. There are noleased assets recognised in the Statement of Financial Position.
Land and buildings are stated at fair value using professional valuations every five years
minimum. Appropriate indices are used in intervening years. Land and building havebeen indexed using the Office for National Statistics ‘Construction output price indices:public (other than housing) new work’.
Other non-current assets are stated at fair value using appropriate indices only where
their values are material with respect to the overall net book value of non-current assets
held. Where indices are not applied, depreciated historical cost is considered as a proxyfor fair value, as per FReM 7.1.14.
The minimum level for capitalisation of an individual tangible non-current asset is£5,000. Where bulk purchases are made for individual assets whose unit costs are
below the threshold, but in aggregate exceed £30,000 within a financial year, the assets
are capitalised.
Directly attributable costs incurred in bringing the asset to the location and condition
necessary for it to be capable of operating are also capitalised. This includes the costsof external contractors who deliver on information technology projects as well assalaries of internal staff working 100% of their time on particular capital projects.

72

1.5

Heritage assets

The National Archives holds more than 11 million physical records, artefacts and asignificant and growing digital archive classed as non-operational heritage assets which
are held in order to fulfil our statutory function which includes ensuring that important
information is preserved and that it can be accessed and used.
Records in our collection have been catalogued and contain descriptions of a broad
range of documents and items. Further details of our online catalogue, Discovery, canbe found at: nationalarchives.gov.uk/records
In the opinion of The National Archives’ Board, reliable information on cost or valuation
is not available for the department’s collection of heritage assets. This is due to thediverse nature of the assets held, the lack of information on purchase cost (as theassets are not purchased); the lack of comparable market values; and the volume ofitems held. As well as the aforementioned, any market value placed on these assets
would not be a true reflection of the value of the assets to the nation’s heritage; theassets, if lost, could not be replaced or reconstructed. These assets are therefore notreported in the Statement of Financial Position.
Certain items within the overall collection are of particular significance, including
Domesday Book, one of our most prized national treasures, which has been preservedfor over nine centuries and is now cared for at Kew; two contemporary versions of
Magna Carta; unique records of official treaties; and a host of irreplaceable social
records. Further details of the preservation and management of our heritage assets areprovided in note 8 of the accounts.
1.6

Intangible assets

Intangible assets comprise software licences purchased from third parties, amortisedover the life of the licence, and costs associated with systems in the course of
construction as they are developed and implemented, amortised over their estimateduseful life for up to five years.
In addition, The National Archives recognises licences issued to third parties andinternal revenue generating databases (such as our Digital Download and Image Libraryservices) as intangible assets with indefinite lives, reflecting the underlying nature of the
supporting public records. The valuation adopted in each case is based on current
forecasts of reasonably foreseeable future revenue generating capacity, discounted as
appropriate.
Each intangible asset is subject to annual review to assess at each reporting datewhether there is any indication that the asset is impaired, as required by International
Accounting Standard 36: Impairment of Assets. Further details of the effects of changes
in our forecast estimates are shown under market risk in note 10 of the accounts.

73

1.7

Depreciation and amortisation

Freehold land is not depreciated.
Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the valuation of freeholdbuildings and other non-current assets by equal instalments over their estimated useful
lives. Assets in the course of construction are not depreciated. Lives are normally in thefollowing ranges:

Buildings
Information technology
Plant and machinery
Furniture and fittings
Transport equipment
Software licences
Licences issued
Revenue-generating databases
1.8

up to 40 years
up to five years
up to 25 years
up to 50 years
up to ten years
up to five years
indefinite
indefinite

Inventories

Current asset stocks, as held for sale, are valued at the lower of cost and net realisablevalue.
1.9

Foreign Currencies

Transactions denominated in foreign currency are accounted for at the Stirling
equivalent at the exchange rate ruling at the time of the transaction. Differences ontranslation of balances are recognised as operating costs within the Consolidated
Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure.
1.10

Revenue recognition

The National Archives has elected to early adopt IFRS 15 with effect from 1 April 2017using the cumulative effect method, and therefore comparative information has not been
restated and continues to be reported under IAS 18.
Revenue principally comprises charges for services provided – such as for the sale ofcopies of documents, sale of publications and other items and services, reproduction
fees and as well as income generated by the licensing of digital copies of historical
records. Operating income also includes grants and contributions from organisations,
including other government departments, to carry out specific projects.
In the comparative period, all contracted revenue was recognised when the significant
risks and rewards of ownership had been transferred to the customer, recovery of theconsideration probable, and the associated costs and the revenue could be measured
reliably. Elements that related to work not yet completed were held at the reporting dateas deferred income and subsequently recognised as income upon completion ofservice.

74The following is a description of principal contracted activities and its associatedperformance obligation and significant payment terms under IFRS 15. The details of theaccounting policies under IAS18 is disclosed separately if they are different from thoseunder IFRS15 and the impact of those changes are disclosed in Note 1.3.
Revenue stream
Royalties
Commercial partners use
accessioned content on theirwebsites and pay us royalties
for image usage.
Software development
Preparation of records anddevelopment of website for use
by commercial partner.

Reprographics
A copying service for bulk
orders from commercial
companies.

Licensing resales
Digital copies of accessioned
records sold to commercial
partners.

Record copying
Paper or digital copies ofaccessioned records sold topublic.
1.11

Nature, timing of performance obligations andsignificant payment terms
The National Archives recognises revenue fromimage usage by commercial partners at an agreed
royalty usage rate. Royalties are typically billed ona quarterly basis.
Under IAS 18, Revenue is recognised as costs
are incurred on each element of the contract
deliverables.
Under IFRS 15 revenue is recognised once thecontrol of the software has passed to thecommercial partner. Billing is in line with costs
incurred. Project revenue and costs are deferred
until ownership has passed.
Under IAS 18 revenue is recognised as copying
work progresses.
Under IFRS15 revenue is recognised once thecopies are provided to the third party. Customers
are charged prior to the distribution of images.
Once the primacy period in the licence to theoriginal commercial partner to sell images has
expired, The National Archives can sell theimages to another commercial partner for a lumpsum. The lump sum is received in advance andrecognised at the time of granting the licence
unless The National Archives require the images
to be updated over the period which thecommercial partner has access to the licenced
material. In such cases the lump sum isrecognised over the period of the licence.
Public request paper or digital copies of ourrecords. Orders are distributed to customers in
hard copy or digital format. Revenue is recognised
on delivery.

Short-term staff benefits

The National Archives recognises the liability associated with the short-term staff benefit
for untaken but earned annual leave entitlement at the end of the reporting period. Thisliability is reviewed annually.

75

1.12

Administration and programme expenditure

The Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure comprises administration andprogramme income and expenditure. The classification of expenditure and income asadministration or as programme follows the definition of administration costs as set out
by HM Treasury in the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.
Costs classified as administration expenditure include costs to cover functions offinance, information technology, procurement, human resources and organisational
development. Other costs include corporate planning and strategy services, internal
corporate communications, corporate governance and board management, knowledge
and information management, and project management.
Programme expenditure reflects the total costs of service delivery excluding all
aforementioned administrative costs of The National Archives. These costs are forproviding direct services of, for example, public access to national records, family
records and archives at Kew; the publishing, conservation and preservation of records;
and UK information management advice and policy including standards, compliance,and copyright.
1.13

Pensions

The provisions of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) cover most pastand present employees in The National Archives. While this is an unfunded defined
benefit scheme, in accordance with the FReM adaptation of IAS 19, The National
Archives accounts for it as a defined contribution scheme. The National Archives
recognises contributions payable as an expense in the year in which they are incurred,
and the legal or constructive obligation is limited to the amount that it agrees tocontribute to the fund.
1.14

Early departure costs

Under the previous Civil Service Compensation Scheme (in place until 22 December2010) the department was required to meet the additional costs of benefits beyond thenormal PCSPS benefits in respect of employees who retire early by paying the required
amounts annually to the PCSPS over the period between early departure and normal
retirement date.
Under the new Civil Service Compensation Scheme the department pays over a lumpsum to PCSPS to cover these costs in full following agreement of the departure rather
than on an ongoing basis and therefore these transactions are expensed when theyoccur rather than being recognised as provisions.
The provision recognised for early retirement therefore reflects costs associated withstaff who retired before the transition to the new Civil Service Compensation
Scheme. The National Archives provided in full for this cost when the early retirement
programme became binding by establishing a provision for the estimated payments.
The provision ceased in accounting period 2016-17.

76

1.15

Operating leases

The National Archives as Lessor
The National Archives has changed accounting policy in respect of income from amaterial contract from IAS 18 Revenue to IAS 17 Leases in order to more accuratelyreflect the nature of the transaction. As the income is classified as an operating lease
under IAS 17, there is no change to the prior year comparative figures. Revenue
generated from such contracts is recognised on a straight line basis for fixed income
and variable income is recognised as publishing rights are granted.
The National Archives does not act as a finance lessor.
The National Archives as lessee
Operating lease rentals are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive Net
Expenditure in equal amounts over the lease term. There are no finance leases.
1.16 Value Added Tax (VAT)
Most of the activities of the department are outside the scope of VAT and, in general
output tax does not apply and input tax on purchases is not recoverable. Irrecoverable
VAT is charged to the relevant expenditure category or included in the capitalised
purchase price of non-current assets. Where output tax is charged or input tax isrecoverable, the amounts are stated net of VAT.
1.17 Provisions and contingent liabilities
Provisions represent liabilities of uncertain timing or amount. Provisions are recognised
when The National Archives has a present legal or constructive obligation, as a result of
past events, for which it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required
to settle the obligation, and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount. If thelikelihood of payment is less than probable, but greater than remote, a contingent
liability is disclosed in the accounts.
Provisions and contingent liabilities are valued at the best estimate of the expenditure
required to settle the obligation. They are discounted to present value using rates set by
HM Treasury, where the effect is material.
1.18 Third party assets
The National Archives holds monetary assets on a temporary basis on behalf of othergovernment departments for disbursement to them. These balances are related toarrangements for the collection and allocation of income that is generated by thelicensing of Crown copyright material originated by departments and agencies that do
not have delegated authority to license this material themselves. The Chief Executive
and Keeper, Jeff James, is the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO)
who has responsibility for the management and licensing of copyrights owned by the
Crown in his capacity as Queen's Printer and Queen's Printer for Scotland. At 31 March
2018, the value of those cash assets was £49,751. In accordance with the FReM, as
government has a beneficial interest in these assets, the balances are included in theaccounts within cash and trade payables.

77

1.19 Significant accounting judgements, estimates and assumptions
The preparation of financial statements requires the management to make judgments,
estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income
and expenses. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The financial statementsof The National Archives include estimates and assumptions that could influence thefinancial statements of subsequent financial years.
Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions toaccounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised andin any future periods affected.
Non-current assets: Land and buildings are stated at fair value using professional
valuations every five years minimum. Appropriate indices are used in intervening years.
The selection of the indices used represents an accounting judgement and uncertainty
in the valuation of non-current assets. The National Archives considers the Office for
National Statistics ‘Construction output price indices: public (other than housing) newwork’ as the most appropriate index.
Intangible Assets: Intangible asset valuations of revenue databases and licenses are
based on forecasts of future revenue generating capacity. Further details in note 10.
Heritage assets: Reliable information on cost or valuation is not available for the
department’s collection of heritage assets. Further details in note 1.5.
Revenue recognition: As set out in Note 5.2, IFRS 15 – Revenue Recognition fromContracts with Customers requires judgments and estimates. Judgement relates to thedetermination of performance obligations in each of the major revenue streams, having
the potential to impact the revenue recognition pattern under the contract. Assumptions
are required to determine an appropriate measure of progress when determining how
control over promised goods or services transfers to the customer. All of the above havethe potential to result in a different revenue recognition pattern.
1.20 Prior period adjustments
There are no prior period adjustments.

78

2. Statement of Operating Expenditure by Operating Segment
International Financial Reporting Standard 8: Operating Segments (IFRS8) requires
operating segmental information to be provided based on information that the Chief
Executive and Keeper as Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM) uses to makedecisions about the organisation. This information reviewed by the CODM is currently
presented based on our management structure as per pages 27 to 28. In order to aid
readers' understanding, the segments below have been presented in line with our publictask, which can be summarised as: leading on policy and best practice in knowledge
and information management for the public sector; preserving and protecting the record;and providing public access.
In accordance with IFRS8, below is a schedule of income and expenditure against eachidentified segment. Overheads are allocated proportionally based on the direct
income/costs identified.
2017-18
Government
information
management

Preservation
andprotection

Publicaccess

Total

£000

£000

£000

£000

Income(2,086)(197)(7,012)(9,295)

Operating expenditure

7,532

13,55816,706

37,796

Depreciation, amortisation and impairment

1,295

2,353

2,900

6,548

Net operating cost

6,741

15,714

12,59435,0492016-17
Government
information
management

Preservation
andprotection

Publicaccess

Total

£000

£000

£000

£000

Income(2,898)(367)(7,511)(10,776)

Operating expenditure

8,609

10,314

19,40638,329Depreciation, amortisation and impairment

1,261

1,511

2,844

5,616

Net operating cost

6,972

11,45814,73933,1693. Staff costs
Staff costs comprise:2017-18

2016-17

Permanently
Employed Staff

Other staff

Total

Total

£000

£000

£000

£000

Wages and salaries

19,24032

19,272

18,967

Social Security costs

1,957

-

1,957

1,889

Other pension costs

3,686

-

3,686

3,682

Sub total

24,88332

24,91524,538Less recoveries in respect of outward secondments
Total net costs(99)
24,78432(99)
24,816(94)
24,444Further analysis on staff numbers, compensation scheme packages and pension
disclosure can be found on pages 50-52, within the accountability report.

794. Operating costs
2017-18£000

2016-17
£000

£000

£000

Rentals under operating leases:
37

Hire of Plant and Machinery40

Non-cash items:
Depreciation and amortisation- Civil Estate

4,089

3,279

- Other non-current assets

2,427

2,337

Impairment

32-

Auditor's remuneration - audit work48

48

Loss on disposal of non-current assets

57

12

(120)

(115)

Provisions:
Released in year

6,533

5,561

Other expenditure
Accommodation and building maintenance

6,771

5,778

Other contracted services

1,065

1,701

IT maintenance

1,293

1,286

Recruitment and training

309

385

Minor software and hardware

133

239

Telecommunications

190

179

Internal audit

44

76

Travel, subsistence and hospitality

285

327

Legal expenses

8675

Advertising

66

72

Consultancy

16-

Postage, stationery and store supplies

150

183

Grants paid

341

601

Film and internet archiving

768

689

Subscriptions

168

233

Public access

448

576

-

15

Shop stores

148

139

Conferences

51

69

Website hosting

399

448

Conservation and preserving materials

22

32

Minor furniture, equipment and related
maintenance

131

203

-

43

Contract expenditure (IFRS 15)

(635)

-

Other expenditure

709

551

Digitisation and scanning

Royalties

12,95813,90019,52819,501

No fees have been paid to auditors for non-audit work.
80

5. Income
5.1 Classification of income
2017-18

2016-17

£000

£000

9,194

10,304

101

472

9,295

10,776

Operating income analysed by classification and activity, is as follows:
Income:Fees and charges to external customers
Fees and charges to other government departmentsa) An analysis of operating income from services provided is as follows:

Reprographic services
Information and publishing
Externally funded projects
Other

Reprographic services

2017-18

2017-18

2017-18

IncomeFull cost(Deficit)/Surplus

£000

£000

£000

399

365

34

6,741

3,260

3,481

480

470

10

1,675

1,675

-

9,295

5,770

3,525

2016-172016-172016-17

IncomeFull cost(Deficit)/Surplus

£000

£000

£000

401

581

(180)

Information and publishing

7,836

3,408

4,428

Externally funded projects

572

594

(22)

1,967

1,967

-

10,776

6,550

4,226

Other

The category ‘other’ includes charges for our public services, for which the charges are
set out by the Fees Regulations under the Public Record Act (1958) and are based on
recovering the costs of providing the services. For prices charged refer to:nationalarchives.gov.uk/legal/our-fees/b) The National Archives is required, in accordance with HM Treasury’s Fees andCharges Guide and recommendations relating to Public Sector Information Holders,to disclose performance results for its areas of activity. The segmental analysis is
not intended to meet the requirements of International Financial reporting Standard
8: Operating segments.

815.2 Revenue from contracts with customers
2017-18

2016-17

£000

£000

Licensing royalties

2,463

2,557

Licensing resales

389

749

Reprographics

399

401

Record copying

592

603

Document downloads

379

381

Grant

510

583

Legislation drafting tool

101

472

1,303

1,117

6,136

6,863

Other

Licensing royalties: Commercial partners use our accessioned content on their websites
and pay us royalties when their subscribers use this content. The initial commercial
partner is required to provide The National Archives with a digitised copy of the images.
Once the first commercial license offering a primacy period for rights to the images has
expired, The National Archives is able to resell the images. Revenue is recognised inline with usage and is billed on a quarterly basis.
Licensing resales: Once the initial commercial license offering a primacy period forrights to the images to the original commercial partner has expired (see Licensing
royalties above), The National Archives can sell the digitised images to an additional
partner for a lump sum and benefit from the further royalties. The lump sum is received
in advance and recognised at the time of granting the license unless The National
Archives require the images to be updated over the period which the commercial
partner has access to the licensed material. In such cases the lump sum is recognisedover the period of the license.
Reprographics: The National Archives provides a copying service for bulk orders fromthird parties. The records can belong to The National Archives or external parties.
Revenue is recognised once the copies are provided to the third party and typicallybilled in advance.
Record copying (Statutory provision): The National Archives provides paper or digitalcopies of accessioned records. Copies are prepared on site and revenue is recognised
as the copies are distributed to customers. Billing takes place prior to distribution of thecopies.
Document downloads (Statutory provision): The National Archives holds several
databases of large series, pre-digitised records available for anyone going on line todownload individually directly from our website. These include Wills, state papers andmilitary records. If downloaded on site these are free, but when used offsite there isusually a standard (statutory) charge (some series remain free off site e.g. Cabinet
Papers because of external funding constraints).
Grants: The National Archives has several grants for works undertaken in the archive
sector. A substantial proportion of grants relate to staff working within the archives
sector to improve specific aspects of sector development. Grants can be invoiced prior82

to the works taking place or after costs have been incurred, depending on thecontractual arrangement. Grant income is recognised as costs (primarily staff time) are
incurred.
Legislation drafting tool: we are developing a web-based tool to standardise thelegislation drafting, amending and publishing process. The National Archives are thelead for the project, and therefore pay the supplier directly, resulting in a need torecharge the five other partners for their share of the cost. The project is being run as
an Agile development, and recharges are made at the end of specific phases ofdelivery.

836. Property, plant and equipment
Furnitureandfittings

Transport
equipment

Information
technology

Assets underconstruction

Land

Buildings

Plant andmachinery

£000

£000

£000

£000

£000

£000

£000

£000

Total

Cost or valuation
At 1 April 201740,442

115,786

12,070

7,752

61

7,835

752

184,698

Additions

-

-

286

205

-

838

-

1,329

Reclassification

-

-

740

-

-

12

(752)

-

Disposals

-

-

-

(9)

-

(612)

-

(621)

Revaluation

1,133

3,242

-

-

-

-

-

4,375

At 31 March 2018

41,575

119,028

13,096

7,948

61

8,073

-

189,781

At 1 April 2017

-

3,279

5,637

3,449

61

5,691

-

18,117

Charged in year

-

4,089

1,109

219

-

1,013

-

6,430

Reclassification

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Disposals

-

-

-

(9)

-

(536)

-

(545)

Revaluation

-

102

-

-

-

-

-

102

At 31 March 2018

-

7,470

6,746

3,659

61

6,168

-

24,104

Net Book Value at
31 March 2018

41,575111,558

6,350

4,289

-

1,905

-

165,677

Net Book Value at
31 March 201740,442

112,507

6,433

4,303

-

2,144

752

166,581Land

Buildings

Plant andmachinery

Furnitureandfittings

Transport
equipment

Information
technology

Assets underconstruction

£000

£000

£000

£000

£000

£000

£000

£000

36,500104,500

10,891

7,772

61

7,090

445

167,259

Additions

-

-

909

-

-

807

752

2,468

Reclassification

-

-

445

-

-

-

(445)

-

Depreciation

Total

Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2016

Disposals

(175)

(20)

-

(62)

-

(257)

Revaluation

3,942

11,286

-

-

-

-

-

15,228At 31 March 201740,442

115,786

12,070

7,752

61

7,835

752

184,698

Depreciation
At 1 April 2016

-

-

4,796

3,279

60

4,712

-

12,847

Charged in year

-

3,279

1,016

188

1

1,031

-

5,515

Reclassification

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Disposals

-

-

(175)

(18)

-

(52)

-

(245)

Revaluation

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

At 31 March 2017
Net Book Value at
31 March 2017
Net Book Value at
31 March 2016

-

3,279

5,637

3,449

61

5,691

-

18,11740,442

112,507

6,433

4,303

-

2,144

752

166,581

36,500104,500

6,095

4,493

1

2,378

445

154,41284

Notesa) Freehold land and buildings were valued on 31 March 2016 at £141 million on
the basis of depreciated replacement cost by an external firm of Chartered
Surveyors, BNP Paribas Real Estate UK. Their valuation was carried out inaccordance with the Appraisal and Valuation Manual issued by the RoyalInstitution of Chartered Surveyors. In years where there is no professional
valuation exercise, revaluation is derived from the relevant indices asappropriate.
b) Revaluation in year is accounted for within other comprehensive net expenditure(page 65) and accumulated in taxpayers’ equity under the revaluation reserve.
Any decrease in valuation of an asset in year has not exceeded any amountpreviously credited to the revaluation surplus.

85

7. Intangible assets

Softwarelicences

Revenue
generating
databases

Licences
issued

Total

£000

£000

£000

£000

At 1 April 2017
Additions
Reclassifications
Impairment
Revaluation

511
(80)
-

1,509
31

19,635(510)

21,655(80)(479)

At 31 March 2018

431

1,540

19,12521,096Charged in year
Impairment

217
86
(48)

-

-

217
86
(48)

At 31 March 2018

255

-

-

255

Net Book Value at 31 March 2018

176

1,540

19,125

20,841Net Book Value at 31 March 2017

294

1,509

19,63521,438

Softwarelicences

Revenue
generating
databases

Licences
issued

Total

£000

£000

£000

£000

At 1 April 2016

278

1,401

17,274

18,953

Additions233

Cost or valuation

Amortisation
At 1 April 2017

Cost or valuation

233

-

-

Reclassifications

-

-

-

-

Revaluation

-

108

2,361

2,469

511

1,509

19,63521,655

At 1 April 2016

115

-

-

115

Charged in year

102

-

-

102

At 31 March 2017

217

-

-

217

Net Book Value at 31 March 2017

294

1,509

19,63521,438Net Book Value at 31 March 2016

163

1,401

17,274

18,838At 31 March 2017
Amortisationa) Revaluation in year is accounted for within other comprehensive net expenditure
and accumulated in taxpayers’ equity under the revaluation reserve. Any
decrease in valuation of an asset in year has not exceeded any amountpreviously credited to the revaluation surplus.

868. Further information on heritage assets
8a. Preservation and management
Acquisition of heritage assets is through government bodies selecting digital andphysical records for permanent preservation and transferring these records to The
National Archives. In January 2013, central government began a ten-year transition,
during which the age at which records would usually be transferred to The National
Archives and released to the public is being reduced from 30 years to 20 years(however, many are transferred early).
The National Archives is the guardian of the nation's public record. Its core role includes
preserving and protecting, making available, and bringing to life the vast collection ofhistorical information it holds. Most of the records are unique and irreplaceable andhave been preserved for their historical, social, legal and administrative value. This
includes significant collections of digital records.
We adopt a risk based approach in preserving our digital and physical records. Thisconsists of conducting a preservation risk assessment for whole collections which aresubsequently reviewed periodically – and for digital records, on a continual and regularbasis. The National Archives adopts a combined approach of preventative measuresand conservation treatments for records in their digital and physical forms.
Expenditure that is required to preserve or clearly prevent further deterioration ofindividual collection items is recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Net
Expenditure when it is incurred. In 2017-18 £1,803k was recognised (2016-17:£1,729k).
Our approach to preservation risk
Physical records
The physical records held by The National Archives span over 1,000 years and fillaround 200 linear kilometres of shelving on site at Kew and at the Deepstore facility in
Cheshire. They comprise a variety of formats: parchment, traditional paper records,
seals, maps, costumes, paintings, films, items of court evidence, and more.
The conservation, preservation and care of this unique and irreplaceable collection is achallenging responsibility, given the age and original condition of some of the physicalmaterials. In order to fulfil our responsibilities to provide access, we are constantly
improving our catalogue data, and monitoring the environmental conditions in ourrepositories. We have a dedicated team responsible for the long-term preservation of
The National Archives physical collection for continued access and future use, and we
improve the stability of our most vulnerable records through conservation work.
We seek appropriate and secure accommodation for all our holdings, wherever they are
stored, processed, transferred, transported or used. This includes providing suitableenvironmental conditions and appropriate housing. It also includes monitoring via an
integrated pest management programme and an environmental monitoring system. We
recognise that of all potential risks to the long-term preservation of our records,
inappropriate storage is the most significant.

87

In the year to March 2018, we received records covering 1,663 metres of shelving(1,492 metres in 2016-17).
The Secretary of State has delegated their power at section 2(4)(g) of the Public
Records Act 1958 to the Chief Executive of The National Archives (in his capacity as
Keeper of Public Records). The Chief Executive therefore has delegated authority tolend documents for display at commemorative exhibitions. All loans are conducted inaccordance with The National Archives exhibitions policy and are subject to criteria
agreed with DCMS officials in line with policy on loaning major cultural assets held byother institutions.
Digital records
The National Archives takes a leading role in dealing with the issues associated with thesurvival and preservation of today's digital public records.
Our digital preservation techniques and policies follow current best practice as
recognised nationally and globally. It involves first establishing the file formats of theaccessioned records and then preserving the original digital objects using passive ‘bitlevel’ preservation; this ensures the secure storage and fundamental integrity of therecord.
A regular assessment of the risk of digital records becoming unfit for presentation ismade and should a format be identified as posing a risk, action to migrate records inthat format (or to otherwise mitigate that risk) is taken. The National Archives will always
maintain the original manifestation of the record as accessioned.
During the year we took 1,410 snapshots of websites and social media accounts for the
UK government web archive (1,467 in 2016-17).
8b: Access
Details of the records we hold can be obtained through our online catalogue, Discovery.
All open records are available for viewing by members of the public and can be viewed
free of charge on site at Kew or copies can be requested to be sent out for a fee. Digitalcopies of some of our open documents are also available for download from our online
services – some may be downloaded free and some for a small fee. A brief registration
process is required to consult original documents; however, this is not required to view
surrogates or online copies of documents.
Access to the records is provided in a number of ways, both on site and online. Original
documents on site are accessed by readers or staff under controlled conditions inaccordance with nationally recognised and agreed standards. Our target is to retrieve
documents held on site within 60 minutes of the request being made and we
consistently perform favourably against this. For documents kept at our off site storage
facility in Cheshire, documents requested are made available for on site viewing within
three working days if ordered by 11:00.
Readers use the document reading room and the map and large document reading
room to consult original documents. In some cases valuable or fragile material may only
be consulted under supervision either within the conservation studio or in the invigilation

88

room. In instances where digital records are unsuitable for online presentation, they
may only be viewed within the Digital Preservation department.
There are ongoing projects to catalogue more of our heritage assets, many using
volunteers, to further improve access to records and we have a dedicated catalogue
team responsible for this.

89

9. Operating lease arrangements
9.1 Operating Lease Commitments - The National Archives as Lessor
The Gazette is managed by The National Archives under a concessionary contract
whereby in return for letting the concession The National Archives receives a financial
contribution.
2017-18

2016-17

£000

£000

Not later than one year

2,500

1,875

Later than one year and not later than five years

1,875

-

-

-

Concessionary contract

Beyond 5 years

9.2 Capital commitments
Contracted capital commitments at 31 March 2018 not otherwise included in thesefinancial statements are as follows:

Property, plant and equipment

2017-18

2016-17

£000

£000

158

536

9.3 Other financial commitments
The National Archives entered into non-cancellable contracts (which are not lease or
PFI contracts) for a Facilities Management service, a building works contract andNetwork Services. The payments to which The National Archives is committed,
analysed by the period during which the commitment expires are as follows:
2017-18

2016-17

£000

£000

Not later than one year

1,823

1,614

Later than one year and not later than five years

4,980

5,766

-

-

6,803

7,380

Beyond 5 years

9010. Financial instruments
As the cash requirements of The National Archives are met through the Estimatesprocess, financial instruments play a more limited role in managing risk than would
apply to a non-public sector body of a similar size. The majority of financial instruments
relate to contracts to buy non-financial items in line with The National Archives’
expected purchase and usage requirements and The National Archives is therefore
exposed to little credit or liquidity risk.
Market risk
The intangible asset valuations of revenue generating databases and licences issued
are based on forecasts of future revenue generating capacity, discounted as
appropriate. The forecast cashflows estimated are subject to market conditions as they
are dependent on customer use of the products offered – both existing and new.
Below is a sensitivity analysis of the effects of changes in the forecast assumptions on
the amounts disclosed in the accounts.
Market risk – assumptions tested

Increase / (decrease)in 2017-18 valuation£000

2017-18 income 10% less than forecast for revenue generating databases
2017-18 income 10% higher than forecast for revenue generating databases

(147)
147

2017-18 income 10% less than forecast for licences(2,108)2017-18 income 10% higher than forecast for licences

2,108Interest rate risk
The National Archives is not exposed to any interest rate risk.
Foreign currency risk
The National Archives is exposed to currency risk on overseas royalty income received
from some of its licences issued. The identifiable risk is both to the valuation of theassociateships on the Statement of Financial Position and to the income recorded in theStatement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure.
There is a risk to the amount of income recognised due to currency fluctuations during
the year, however this risk is minimal. If the pound was to fall against the dollar
significantly, the reduction in the intangibles valuation would be taken against therevaluation reserve.
These risks are managed by using a historical trend analysis on exchange rates toestimate appropriate amounts to use in valuations undertaken.

9111. Cash and cash equivalents
2017-18

2016-17

£000

£000

Balance at 1 April

5

11

Net change in cash and cash equivalent balances

8(6)

Balance at 31 March

13

5

Government Banking Service

113

Cash in hand

22Balance at 31 March

13

5

2017-18

2016-17

£000

£000

Value Added Tax

33-

Trade receivables

311

323

Deposits and advances

50

81

3,000

2,372

3,394

2,776

237

198

237

198

3,631

2,974

2017-18

2016-17

£000

£000

958

1,113

The following balances at 31 March are held at:

12. Trade receivables, financial and other assets

Amounts falling due within one year:

Prepayments and accrued income

Amounts falling due after one year:
Prepayments and accrued income

Total receivables

13. Trade payables and other current liabilities

Amounts falling due within one year
Other Taxation, Social Security and Pension
Trade payables

468

357

3,089

3,763

Short-term staff benefits (Earned leave liability)

737

773

Amounts issued from the Consolidated Fund for supply but not spent at year end

13

5

5,265

6,011

800

604

800

604

6,065

6,615

Accruals and deferred income

Amounts falling due after one year:
Deferred income

Total Payables

9214. Contract balances
14.1 Contract balances
The following table provides information about receivables, contract assets and contract
liabilities from contracts with customers.
31 March 2018

1 April 2017

£000

£000

216

-

Contract assets

5-

Contract liabilities

271

56

Receivables, which are included in trade receivables

The amount of revenue recognised from performance obligations satisfied in previous
periods, due to the completion of performance obligations met in reprographics, is£218k.
The contract liabilities primarily relate to the advance consideration received from ourcontract to provide software development for which revenue is recognised oncompletion of the software.
Significant changes in the contract assets and the contract liabilities balances during theperiod are as follows:
Contract
AssetsContract
Liabilities

£000

£000

Contract Assets/Liabilities at the beginning of the period-

56

Increase/Decreases due to cash received/paid--

Transfers from contract liabilities to receivables

-

(56)

Change in measure of progress

5271

Contract Assets/Liabilities at the end of the period

5271

14.2 Transaction price to remaining performance obligations
As at 31 March 2018, the amount allocated to software development is £901k. This will
be recognised once the software package has been delivered to the customer. This willtake place in the next financial year.
The National Archives applies the practical expedient in paragraph 121 of IFRS 15 anddoes not disclose information about remaining performance obligations that haveoriginal expected durations of one year or less.

9314.3 Contract assets
Revenue expected to be recognised in the future related to performance obligations thatare unsatisfied at the reporting date:
31 March 2018

1 April 2017

£000

£000

-

-

635

-

Assets recognised from costs to obtain a contract
Assets recognised from costs to fulfil

Management expects the costs of staff time and third party development work incurredin developing software are recoverable. The National Archives has therefore capitalised£630k as contract costs at 31 March 2018. There was no similar contract in thecomparative period. The software development transaction price to remaining
performance obligations of £901k and contract asset of £630k form the balance of thecontract liability £271k.
Capitalised software development costs are amortised when the related revenues arerecognised. As there was no similar contract in the comparative period, there is noamortisation or impairment loss.
Applying the practical expedient in paragraph 94 of IFRS 15, The National Archives
recognises the incremental costs of obtaining contracts as an expense when incurred if
the amortisation period of the assets that The National Archives otherwise would haverecognised is one year or less.
15. Provisions for liabilities and charges
2017-18
Early
retirement
costs

Onerous
lease

Total

£000

£000

£000

Balance at 1 April

-

337

337

Provision not required written back

-

(120)

(120)

Provided in year

-

-

-

Provisions utilised in year

-

(6)

(6)

Balance as at 31 March

-

211

211

2016-17

Balance at 1 April

Early
retirement
costs

Onerous
lease

Total

£000

£000

£000

12

475

487

Provision not required written back

-

(115)

(115)

Provided in year

-

-

-

Provisions utilised in year

(12)

(23)

(35)

Balance as at 31 March

-

337

337

94

Analysis of expected timing of discounted cash flows

2017-18
Early
retirement
costs

Onerous
lease

Total

£000

£000

£000

Not later than one year

-

13

13

Later than one year

-

198

198

Balance as at 31 March

-

211

211

Analysis of expected timing of discounted cash flows

2016-17
Early
retirement
costs

Onerous
lease

Total

£000

£000

£000

Not later than one year

-

12

12

Later than one year

-

325

325

Balance as at 31 March

-

337

337

Early retirement costs
The provision in the table above relates to early retirement cost. The National Archives
meets the additional costs of benefits beyond the normal PCSPS benefits in respect of
employees who retire early by paying the required amounts annually to the PCSPS overthe period between early departure and normal retirement date. The National Archives
provides for this in full when the early retirement programme becomes binding by
establishing a provision for the estimated payments.
Onerous lease
The onerous lease relates to a vacation of office space within a government building in
Norwich. The lease runs until December 2023. The provision is calculated by taking
costs that will be incurred under the contract discounted by HM Treasury real discountrate of -1.85%.
16. Contingent liabilities
There were no material contingent liabilities at the reporting date (2016-17: nil).
17. Related party transactions
The National Archives is a non-ministerial government department. Its parent
department is the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The Chief Executive
and Keeper reports to the Secretary of State. The National Archives has had a numberof transactions with other government departments and other central government
bodies, primarily UK Parliament, Office for Parliamentary Counsel, Scottish Parliament,
Parliamentary Counsel Office Scotland and the Ministry of Justice.
Jeff James was appointed the Interim President of the Forum of National Archivists, a
sub-forum of the International Council on Archives (ICA) during 2017-18. Subscription to
the ICA was paid to the sum of £18,146 during 2017-18. Prior to the appointment The
National Archives reimbursed ICA £77,526 for a seconded member of staff.

95

Valerie Johnson is a Trustee and Member of the Executive Committee of the BusinessArchives Council. Valerie Johnson pays her own individual subscription for BusinessArchives Council membership. During 2017-18, The National Archives paid an annual£55 institutional membership subscription fee (2016-17: £55), and conference fees of£213 (2016-17: £280).
John Sheridan is a Director of the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) and the DLM
Forum, for and on behalf of The National Archives. The National Archives paid amembership fee of £9,360 (2016-17: £9,000) and £754 (2016-17: £895) respectively.
A further sponsorship award was made to the DPC to the sum of £5,000 during 201617; no payment was made during 2017-18. Expenses were reimbursed by The National
Archives for the £136 travel expenses of an independent speaker to the Archives
Unlocked Board meeting. £500 (2016-17: £nil) was received from DPC for a contribution
to an award.
A DLM Forum payment for attendance at a conference was made for the sum of £3,028(2016-17: nil).
Claire Feehily is a Trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund from 1 March 2018. Prior to theappointment three grants were received in year to the sum of £391,188 (2016-17: two
grants received to the sum of £401,017).
There are no outstanding balances owed to or owed from any of the above related party
organisations.
18. Third party assets
The National Archives held short-term monetary assets valued at £49,751 on behalf ofother government departments at the end of the reporting period (£18,997 at 31 March2017).
31 March 2017

Grossinflows

Gross
outflows

31 March 2018

£000

£000

£000

£000

19

60

29

50

19

60

29

50

Bank balance

19. Events after the reporting period date
There have been no significant events after 31 March 2018 that require adjustment to,or disclosure in, the financial statements.
These accounts have been authorised for issue by the Accounting Officer on the samedate as the C&AG’s Audit Certificate.

96Annex A
Sustainability accounting and reporting
2017-2018 is the second year of the Greening Government Commitments 2016 to
2020.23 This report presents an overview of The National Archives’ activities during the
2017-18 financial year, our progress against the revised Greening Government
Commitments targets, and our plans for the next financial year 2018-19.
This report was prepared in accordance with HM Treasury’s ‘Public sector annual
reports: sustainability reporting guidance 2017-18’. Further information is available on
our website.24

Our approach
Governance and reporting
Our key sustainability targets are summarised within business plans and performance isregularly reviewed throughout the year. Our Executive Team reviews our sustainability
performance monthly. Our Board and Audit and Risk Committee review oursustainability performance at six-monthly intervals, ensuring that progress is scrutinisedand challenged where appropriate.
We are committed to meeting, and exceeding where practical, the Greening
Government Commitments. We are an active participant in the cross-Whitehall
Sustainability Group, sharing best practice and benefiting from lessons learnt from otherprivate and public sector organisations.

Data accuracy
We review and seek to improve our data gathering and reporting processes each year.
Although we attempt to minimise estimation, this is used where it is not practical toobtain exact figures. This is particularly the case with waste data, where weighing
individual bins is not always practical. In such cases, we seek guidance from therelevant contractor to help us apply accurate estimates, and explain clearly in ourreporting the basis of the estimation and the possible impact on figures. Data may be
re-stated in later years if post year-end reconciliation shows previous figures were
inaccurate; for example, if a utility bill arrives after the end of the reporting period.
Changes to estimation processes will also be explained. Commentary to explain any
changes that have a significant affect on the main indicators have been provided.
In 2017-18, we further developed our internal environmental management system with aseries of data accounting dashboards developed, supported by operating processes.
The system is utilised to help track environmental performance and data accuracy.

23 www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-2016-to-2020
24 nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/transparency/97

A full and thorough review of this system has identified improvements, including:

Development of a biodiversity dashboard following a number of surveys
performed in 2017-18 to develop a baseline of biodiversity on site. From 201819, changes to site biodiversity at 13 different survey locations across the site will
be reported onA review of the travel dashboard highlighted a different conversion factor being
used for reporting, impacting the emissions data reported in previous years. The
dashboard has been updated with the correct annual factors to ensure improved
data accuracy

Rental vehicle data has also been improved to account for vehicle specificemissions factors and full datasets, allowing for increased accuracy in theemissions to be made

Additional processes were added to the environmental system in line with theISO14001 Standard to develop a more robust approach to the data reporting
within the organisation.

Our sustainability strategy and targets
As a non-ministerial government department, we work to achieve the Greening
Government Commitments – a set of targets and outcomes that together help ensurethat central government meets its vision for sustainability.
In some cases, these targets have already been achieved, and we have set morechallenging internal targets to continue striving to reduce our environmental impacts.
In 2018-19, we will review our operations in line with the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), to highlight how we contribute to these Goals and to help inform future
strategy.
Meeting the Greening Government Commitments
Progress has been strong in the second year of reporting against the revised Greening
Government Commitments (GGC) targets, building on the progress made last year.

Indicator

Greenhouse gas
emissionsOperational
waste

GGC
target(2019-20)

The
National
Archives’
target(2019-20)

The
National
Archives’
targetbaseline
year

-32%

-57%*

2009-10-65%-16%***

Zero
waste tolandfill

2010-110%0%-30%**

2010-11-34%+8%

Less than10%
waste tolandfill
Reducewaste
generation

ChangeagainstChangethecompared withbaseline
2016-17 (+/-%)
2017-18(+/-%)

98

Operational
waste continued

Increaserecyclingrate

Increaserecyclingrate

2010-11

-14%

+11%

Paper

-50%

- 50%

2010-11

-23%

+54%

Water

Reducewater
consumption-25%

2009-10

-24%

-3%

-30%

-30%

2009-10

-60%

-51%

Domestic flights
taken*This is the target for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
** The National Archives has set its own target for waste reduction beyond the previous 25% Greening
Government Commitment (GGC) target against the 2009-10 baseline, to aspire towards 30% reduction in
waste generated*** Travel conversion factors have been updated for 2016-17

2017-18 performance
Performance in 2017-18 has continued the previous trend for carbon, energy andwaste. For any indicators that have increased, we continue to strive for improvement.
2017-18

2017-18 per
FTE
employee

2016-172016-17 per
FTE
employee

2,760

5.1

3,282**

5.8**

8,702

16.1

8,920***

15.7***

116

0.2

107

0.2

18,91535.1

19,573

34.5

36

0.1

73^

0.1

Indicator
Greenhouse gas
emissions – scopes 1-3
tCO2e
Energy used: MWh
Waste produced*(tonnes)
Water used m3
Domestic flights taken* Excludes one-off construction and refurbishment projects waste, to enable meaningful comparison** Restated as energy records were inaccurate and transport conversion factors were updated*** Restated as energy records for September 2016 were incorrect^ Restated following an internal review of travel information

Greenhouse gas emissions
Our greenhouse gas emissions associated with building energy use and domestic
business travel in the 2017-18 financial year were 2,759 tonnes. This represents a 65%
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions against the 2009-10 financial year figures.

99

Indicator
Greenhouse gas
emissions:
tonnes CO2e
Building energy
consumption:
MWhFinancial
indicators: £Gross emissions for scope 1
and 2
Gross emissions for scope 3
Electricity: non-renewable
Electricity: renewable
Electricity: good quality
combined heat and power
Natural gas
Diesel Oil
EnergyCarbon Reduction
Commitment allowances
Business travel

2017-182,529

2016-17
3,002*

230
5,537
0
87

280**
5,630*
0
232

3,165
0
£753,022.54£43,9223,052*
6£754,044.67*£48,689£129,623.60£144,442.85**** Restated as energy records for September 2016 were incorrect** Restated as transport conversion factors were improved*** Restated as hire car data became available, replacing estimated data

During April to September 2017 the combined heat and power plant was not operating
due to a communication fault, which has led to an increase in the electricity demand forthe site during these months. This has been rectified, and the plant is now fully
operational. Several energy projects have been implemented this year. Daily
consumption of gas and electricity across the site is monitored to identify regular trends
and identify inconsistencies to ensure systems are running as planned. LED lighting
continued to be rolled out across the site in collaboration with our total facilities
management provider. In addition, the roll-out of Windows 10 software has provided
further opportunities for staff to work flexibly and encouraged changes in working
practices.
In 2018-19, further energy efficiency projects are planned. Technology to monitor theout of hours use of computers and devices will be installed to help to reduce this;upgrading these devices will help to reduce the number of computers and related server
hardware required in public areas. Both initiatives will reduce energy consumption andthe quantity of electronic waste generated.
We avoid unnecessary business travel, and have a general approach of promoting
travel by public transport rather than car, and train rather than plane, wherever practical.
However, our public task, our leadership role for the archives sector and our reach, bothnational and international, necessitates a certain amount of business travel. The roll-out
of new software and technology has resulted in a dramatic reduction in domestic flights,
with an increased use of conference call facilities for meetings.
In 2017-18 we performed an internal audit of the domestic travel emissions, calculations
and methodology to improve the accuracy of the data. This process highlighted ahistorical gap with the emissions factors being used, which have now been corrected.
As a result, the emissions for previous years have been restated as part of the Scope 3
emissions.
A behaviour change programme aiming to promote the ethos of the environmental
management system to all staff, will continue to progress in 2018-19. Infographics

100

(visual illustrations) will be used to highlight positive environmental outcomes that
resulted from successfully achieving sustainable behaviours, and to encourage staff to
use them for future. It will also aim to provide positive feedback to staff and demonstratethat their efforts to improve sustainability performance are valued.
In 2018-19, a network of sustainability champions is planned. The objectives of thisnetwork are to reinforce and embed environmental initiatives, improve internal
knowledge sharing, and promote employee engagement for environmental andefficiency projects. To support this network, a communications programme will be
developed to promote staff engagement.
Waste minimisation and management
At 116 tonnes, our operational waste has reduced by 34% against the financial year
2010-11 baseline, exceeding our original 25% reduction target.
Indicator
Operational waste:
tonnesConstruction andrefurbishment
projects waste:
tonnesOperational waste
expenditure: £**Total
Recycled and reused
Energy from waste incineration
Food and catering: anaerobic
digestion
Composted
Landfill
Total
Recycled and reused
Landfill
Total
Recycled and reused
Energy from waste incineration
Food and catering: anaerobic
digestion
Landfill

2017-18
116
64
46
6

2016-17
107*
43
55
6

0
0
12
6
6

2
0
50
49
1

24,5204,553***
9,324
1,830

31,927
12,403
9,764
1,800

0

0

* Restated following an internal review which identified additional IT waste disposal** Spend data obtained from our Facilities Management contract provider. Total includes the cost of
storage and containment** Includes a rebate of £1,513 from reused IT equipment

Although we have again achieved zero waste to landfill, our overall recycling rate has
increased in 2017-18 by 11%. During the year a detailed review was performed, looking
at how materials could be better managed to avoid waste being generated in the first
instance and to promote the re-use of materials (called circular economy). Thisapproach has linkages with the procurement and operational activities within ourorganisation.
A review of plastic cup waste, identified in the January 2017 waste review as a major
contributor to recycling contamination, has been performed to identify options forseparation or replacement.
In 2018-19, we will explore some of the circular economy areas in more detail throughthe procurement and disposal of furniture and single use plastic items.

101

The catering service partner changed in July 2017, which has not impacted upon thewaste oil and overall waste figures being recorded. In 2018-19, improved waste
reporting including plate waste will be captured to help improve further thecommunication on waste minimisation.
In 2018-19, we are preparing initiatives to promote behaviour change to reduce waste
generation. We will produce sustainability newsletters for our staff, supporting them toadapt their activities where practicable, and organise events to develop awareness ofparticular topics and encourage consideration of the impacts of individual choices.
Use of finite resources
Indicator
Water consumption: m3
Water supply costs: £Paper use: reams A4
eq.

2017-18
18915
36,9153,471.1

2016-17
19573(a)38,6702,252.5(a) February and March 2017 consumption estimated by the supplier based on January meter readings.

Water consumption has reduced by 3% against the previous year and 24% against the
2009-10 baseline. Consumption in the first three months of the year was unusually highas a result of flushing the low temperature hot water circuits in both buildings on site,
flushing the chilled water units in the Q2 building, and leaks in the water supply. In
2018-19, a detailed water review will be performed to understand the water consumed
on site and to estimate the losses resulting from leaks and evaporation.
Paper consumption in 2017-18 has increased by 54% due to a change in the way weallocate paper use. This has been caused by an increase in the use of A3 paper, which
has been attributed to changes within the Government Remote Services contracts. In
2018-19, a review of the paper used will be performed to better understand the volumes
being generated and the underlying paper consumption from business as usual
activities to provide a more realistic reporting baseline.
Sustainable procurement
We continue to align our procurement to the Crown Commercial Service frameworks,
and seek to consider opportunities of the creation of social and environmental value
through our procurement, rather than focusing solely on economic factors. In 2017-18,
we have embedded sustainability in the retendering of major contracts, including
catering.
This year, we reviewed our sustainable procurement processes and approach with aview to identifying the major environmental risks and opportunities and managing thesethrough the procurement process.
The Sustainable Procurement Policy and cross-departmental processes will be rolled
out across our organisation in 2018-19. Once in place, training will be provided toreinforce the understanding of these processes, aligned with the environmental
initiatives including the circular economy and behaviour change programmes.

102

Biodiversity
From 2016, progress has been made, with the biodiversity programme based upon the
updated Biodiversity Action Plan. A number of initiatives, including a wildflower
meadow, and a new planting scheme to support native pollinator species year-roundwere implemented last year.
In order to assess the success of these measures, as well as provide insight into longterm local environmental trends, quarterly biodiversity surveys have commenced fromthe beginning of 2017-18. These surveys collect simple presence/absence information
on species observed on site at the time of survey. The species can be categorised
based on their conservation status. This, combined with the results of surveys in the
future, can allow for comparison of data.
Several species of waterfowl and other birds have been observed nesting at the site,and sightings of endangered species such as stag beetles and bats have beenreported, although there is no evidence that they nest on site. Existing planting is insome cases not suitable for providing year-round shelter.
In 2017-18, four biodiversity surveys have been completed. The data has been captured
in a dashboard and a template survey sheet. 2017-18 is the ‘baseline year’ forbiodiversity onsite. 2018-19 will be the first year where we can report on biodiversity
changes at 13 different ‘survey locations’ across the site.
Climate change adaptation
The greatest risks climate change poses for our operations are from flooding andtemperature extremes. We mitigate this risk by maintaining an up-to-date Flood
Response Plan, and upgrading our buildings and systems to enhance our resilienceagainst temperature extremes and any future volatility in energy markets.
Sustainable Construction
During 2017-18 a new event space and learning room was constructed. Our Estates
team were involved in the technical design of the space to ensure the mechanical andelectrical systems were integrated within existing systems and their operation to
maximise energy efficiencies.

103Annex B
Advisory Council on National Records and Archives:
15th Annual Report 2017-18
To the Right Honourable Jeremy Wright QC MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport.

Part One – The Advisory Council
The Advisory Council on National Records and Archives (the Council) is an independentbody. It advises you as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (theSecretary of State) on issues relating to access to public records. This includes advising
you on matters relating to public records generally and representing the public interestin determining which historical records should, exceptionally, not be open to publicaccess, as such records normally are. It was established by the Public Records Act
1958 (PRA) and is a non-departmental public body.
The Council is chaired by the Master of the Rolls, The Rt Hon Sir Terence Etherton,
who was appointed with effect from 3 October 2016. Details of the membership of theCouncil during the period covered by this report are set out in Appendix A, from which it
will be seen that, during the course of 2017-18, seven members of the Council stood
down and four new appointments were made.
The role of the Council
The Council advises on:applications from departments for the retention of public records beyond the ageof 20 years, when those selected for permanent preservation are normallytransferred to The National Archivesthe balance of the public interest in applications from departments for theextended closure of historical public records and other ‘matters relating to theapplication of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) to information
contained in public records that are historical records within the meaning of Part
VI of that Act’

the balance of the public interest in the release or non-disclosure of historical
records, an application for the disclosure of which has been made under the
FOIA; and



the preservation of public records in places of deposit and facilities for publicaccess to them.

Through its sub-committee, the Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic
Research, the Council advises the Chief Executive of The National Archives andKeeper of Public Records on matters relating to private archives outside the publicrecords system.

104

As its name suggests, the Council’s role is advisory. Accordingly, the Council does not:

make the final decision as to whether, when they become historical, records aretransferred to The National Archives closed nor on whether, when a closed
record is reviewed after transfer, it should remain closed – these decisions lie
with the department whose records they aremake the final decision on whether a record can be retained by a department –the decision is made by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media andSport.

Nor does the Council:
advise on departments’ retention of records under the Security and Retention
Instrument 2011



review departments’ decisions on the selection of their records for permanent
preservation - this falls under the remit of the Keeper of Public Records.

Part Two – The Advisory Council’s work in 2017-18
Meetings
The Council held four meetings this year: in May, July and November 2017 and in
February 2018. As well as Council members, meetings were attended by Jeff James,
The National Archives’ Chief Executive and Keeper of Public Records, and by otherrepresentatives from The National Archives who have particular expertise related to theissues considered by the Council.
The Advisory Council’s procedures and processes
During the course of the year, the Council completed its review of its procedures andprocesses, and has implemented a number of changes designed to enhance its
independence and effectiveness. For example, two deputy chairs have been appointed– one (Trevor Woolley) for the Council’s core business and another (Elizabeth Lomas)
for the Forum on Historical Manuscripts. A number of recommendations emerging fromthe review will be reflected in a revised Code of Practice (under s.46 of the Freedom ofInformation Act) which will be the subject of a consultation exercise. Among these, theCouncil seeks to codify that its responsibilities are limited to advising on the balance ofthe public interest in the release or closure of records and does not encompass theprovision of advice on the use of FOIA exemptions which are not subject to a public
interest test (‘absolute exemptions’).
The Council has, however, been disappointed by the time it has taken for departments
to respond to some of its recommendations, such as the institution of a procedure toensure that the Council is consulted where FOI requests are made for records retainedby departments and where the FOIA exemption claimed by the department gives rise toa public interest test. In one case, a recommendation from the review took more than ayear to receive a response from your department.

105

Engagement with departments
During this year, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport attended a
Council meeting to discuss the progress they were making in the review and transfer of
their historical records.
Representatives from the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) attended
meetings to provide the Council with details of plans to ensure that appropriate records
in relation to the EU exit process were created and captured. The Council was also
advised that the sensitivity criteria for some records being reviewed for transfer would
need to take into account the negotiations for exiting the EU. The Council was content
to agree that principle, but requested detailed information about amended criteria in theform of a memorandum or checklist and advised that it would take a case by case viewof the cases presented to it for closure.
The Council received retention applications from: Animal and Plant Agency (APHA),
Companies House, HM Land Registry, Home Office, HM Treasury, Foreign &Commonwealth Office (FCO); Ofqual, Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Office for National
Statistics (ONS), Department for Education, Department for Health, Charity
Commission, Natural Resources Wales, Department for Digital, Culture, Media andSport (DCMS), HMRC, Department for Work & Pensions and Cabinet Office.
The Council was content to recommend that permission be given to retain their legacy
records for the 12-month period requested by HM Land Registry, SFO, ONS,
Department for Education, DCMS, APHA and Companies House were given a one-year
retention instead of the requested two years and both were asked to provide a progress
report within the year. DWP was given a two-year retention instead of the requested five
years; and the Council asked for additional information regarding the record subjects
and resourcing.
Ofqual, Charity Commission and Natural Resources Wales were granted a one-year
retention but were asked to provide progress updates. HM Treasury, FCO, Home Officeand Cabinet Office were given permission to retain records for the requested periods.
The Council considered update papers from the FCO regarding their review of annual
department files and from the Home Office, HMRC and Department of Health.
Representatives from the Ministry of Defence provided the Council with an update onplans for the transfer of military service personnel records from the early part of the lastcentury. The department’s proposal for the digitisation and ongoing access of theserecords was considered by the Council, which was content in principle with the transfer
proposal but had concerns about the funding of the project and the opportunity forcontinued public access. The department was asked to return to Council with an update
and revised proposal in November. During the year, the Council has received andconsidered correspondence from a researcher expressing concerns about the timely
selection and transfer from the Ministry of Defence of particular record series. While
matters of selection are not within the Council’s remit – being a matter for the
department under the supervision and guidance of the Keeper – the Council will seek
further reassurance during 2018-19 from both the department and The National
Archives that transfer obligations are being met.

106

Access to Public Records


Closure of records under the Freedom of Information Act
The Council is responsible for advising you on the application of the FOIA tohistorical public records, including on applications from departments that wish
their records to be transferred to The National Archives closed or partially closed(redacted) under exemptions permitted under the FOIA.
In 2017-18, 74,551 government records were transferred to The National
Archives. Over 87.6% of these records were transferred open in full or partiallyclosed and can be viewed at The National Archives by any member of the public
who has a reader’s ticket. The remaining 8.2% of records were transferredclosed, after departmental applications to do so had been scrutinised by theCouncil and 4.2% were retained in full by the relevant department.
The number of closure applications submitted to the Council increased verysignificantly this year to 5,974, compared with 4,290 in 2016-17. Around 60% of
these applications engaged only absolute exemptions, and so were not subject toa public interest test. Of these, the vast majority involved personal information
about private individuals; personal information may be protected from release by
the Data Protection Act. In considering applications to close records to the public,
the Council focuses on those that invoke exemptions subject to a public interest
test. The most common exemptions claimed concern damage to international
relations and risks to the health or safety of individuals.
Given the very large volume of applications placed before it, the Council works
on the basis of summaries prepared by departments and vetted by The National
Archives. The Council will ask for more details and question apparent
weaknesses in the arguments for closure until it is satisfied; or until the
department withdraws or modifies the request. Occasionally, the Council may
insist on one of its members seeing the full record.
The Council queried just under 7% of the applications it received, but the figure
rises to around 17% when records only attracting absolute exemptions are
excluded. More than half of this year’s queries resulted in the applications being
amended or withdrawn by departments. In the majority of cases, the Council
raised queries which required departments to make the arguments for closure
clearer, rather than to alter the duration of closure or the FOI exemption to be
applied to the records. While this has provided some reassurance thatdepartments are taking care to ensure that they are applying the correct
exemptions, there is still scope for them to improve the quality of the justifications
they offer in support of their use. In one case, the Council nominated a member
to view a record because it was unpersuaded by the department’s justification forclosure. As a result, the Council recommended in favour of transferring therecord open. If the difference of opinion continues, the Council’s new process for
dealing with cases of unresolved disagreement (which requires the department toseek approval from its ministers) will be applied. Ultimately, the final decision will
rest with the department but if it is contrary to the advice of the Council thedisagreement of the Council will be recorded in one of our quarterly
communications to you as Secretary of State.

107

Generally, the quality of the applications made by departments for closure havebeen satisfactory. The Council has, however, had occasion to press departments
to produce bespoke explanations for the record concerned rather than offer ageneric explanation which fails to address the specifics. In addition, there havebeen instances when Departments have been slow to respond to queries raisedby the Council, or have withdrawn applications only after repeated challenge
from the Council.
Retention of records under the Public Records Act
The Council also advises the Secretary of State on applications submitted bydepartments for the retention of public records under the Public Records Act
1958. The most common grounds for a department to seek to retain records are
set out in guidance produced by The National Archives.
The Secretary of State has accepted the Council’s advice on every applicationconsidered this year.
This year, the Council considered 1,432 retention applications, an increase of
45% on 2016-17 and 80% on 2014-15. As reported last year, the main reasonsfor the increase are the impact on review teams’ workload of the transition to the
20-year rule, which requires departments to review two years’ worth of material
each year from 2013 until 2023. Additional reasons are:a) The introduction of The National Archives’ Record Transfer Report in 2014,
which provides greater transparency by publishing data on records
transferred or retained by departments. This has encouraged departments tomake sure that they comply with the PRA and have a retention instrument toallow them to retain historical records for which they have an ongoing
business needb) That departments are increasingly being required to retain records which they
may be asked to make available to inquiries or inquests, for example theIndependent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. A new category (no.8) has been
added to the list of grounds for retention drawn up by The National Archives
to reflect this; andc) That departments are making more applications to the Council to retain
records on security grounds where that material that would previously havebeen considered to have fallen under the 2011 Security and Retention
Instrument. The criteria for the application of the Instrument are being applied
more tightly by departments and more material was considered out of scopeof such ‘blanket’ retention approval.

The following table shows the number of applications for closure and retention
considered by the Advisory Council, and the number queried by it. There were threeoutcomes in the case of queried applications:a) Clarification or additional information provided by a department was acceptedby the Council and the application was agreed unchanged108b) The department amended its application so that the closure period was
reduced, the reasons for closure more accurately explained, or the amount of
information to be closed reducedc) The department withdrew its application.
Further information on how the Council scrutinises and challenges theapplications it receives is available on the Council’s website.
2014-152015-16

2016-172017-18*

applications
Closure
4,250
4,435
4,290
5,974
applications consideredapplications
181
480
506
410
queriedapplications
105
340
230
117
where
clarification wasreceived andaccepted
applications
67
126
206
186
which wereamended bydepartments andaccepted
applications
9
14
28
27
withdrawn bydepartments
following
challenge by theCouncil
applications
Retention
793
952
986
1,432
applications consideredapplications
28
44
116
125
queriedapplications
21
28
34
32
where
clarification wasreceived andaccepted
applications
4
12
38
72
which wereamended bydepartments andaccepted
applications
3
4
24
11
withdrawn bydepartments
following
challenge by theCouncil*a number of queried cases remained unresolved at the end of the period covered bythis report and will be carried forward.

109



FOI Panels
Records retained by departments and those closed at transfer to The National
Archives remain subject to the FOIA and individuals can make an FOI request
under the FOIA to have access to them.
When The National Archives receives a FOIA request for access to closed
information held there, it follows the procedure set out in Part VI of the Act. Under
these provisions, before a request can be refused on the grounds of a qualified
exemption, the Secretary of State and the Council must be consulted. The
Council will carry out the public interest test, which is necessary before such an
exemption can be applied. This is, whether in all the circumstances of the case,the public interest in disclosure is outweighed by the public interest in refusing
access to the information in the record. For this purpose, panels of three Council
members are convened to consider the public interest in the release or nondisclosure of the requested information. The Council has no advisory role whena request is to be refused citing only absolute exemptions (around 38% ofcases).
In most cases, the request concerns information closed at transfer on the
grounds that it was either information:o that, if released, would endanger the safety or physical or mental health of
an individualo that, if released, would damage international relations
o relating to law enforcement.
Cases are carefully scrutinised and debated by panels on the basis of a fresh
assessment by the department of the arguments for and against disclosure,taking account of any change in circumstances since the access status of therecord was last considered. If they consider it necessary, a panel will request
further detail or clarification from the relevant department or The National
Archives. Even where they are in agreement that the public interest in closure
outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption, the panel may also raise
concerns they have about departmental practices and draw attention toinconsistencies between departments in their handling of FOIA requests.
During 2017-18, 26 panels were convened, with 383 cases being considered.
Panels challenged 43 of these. Having been provided with more detail, thepanels in most cases were able to accept departments’ arguments for continuing
to apply public-interest based exemptions. However, in two cases, the panels’
challenges resulted in the closed records being opened in full and, in two othercases, there was a partial release of the closed information. As in previous
years, the majority of FOI requests for closed records sought access to criminalcase files, usually relating to historic murder cases. In these instances, theCouncil is typically called upon to balance the public interest in release against
the potential distress which might be caused to victims or their relatives, or (in thecase of unsolved crimes) to the risk to the successful prosecution of perpetratorsin the future.

110

The Council has found it necessary to remind departments of the need toprocess FOI requests promptly so as to leave the Council enough time to probe
and challenge, as necessary.

Part Three – The Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic
Research
The Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic Research (the Forum) wasestablished in May 2010. The Forum, in its capacity as a subcommittee of the Advisory
Council, provides a means through which the Chief Executive of The National Archives,in his capacity as Historical Manuscripts Commissioner, can seek advice on historicalmanuscripts (independent archives). It is also a place for discussion about academic
research issues.
The Forum is chaired by the Master of the Rolls. Membership currently includes Dr
Elizabeth Lomas, Deputy Chair, and four additional members of the Advisory Council,
all of whom have expertise in academic research and/or knowledge and experience ofindependent archives. During the period covered by this report, three members of theForum, Dr Christopher Ridgway, Dr Ian Mortimer and Mr Clive Cheesman, all came tothe end of their terms.
Meetings of the Forum are attended by the Chief Executive and other staff from The
National Archives.
The Forum met once during this year. It has continued to discuss and advise on:Revised Terms of Reference for the Forum

The work of the Research and Academic teams at The National ArchivesArchives Inspire and Archives Unlocked – strategic visions for The National
Archives

Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Historic Manuscripts
Commission



The improvements to Discovery, The National Archives’ catalogue.

In addition, it has considered seven cases dealing with the acceptance by thegovernment of private archives in lieu of the payment of a tax liability under theprovisions of the Inheritance Tax Act (1984).
The Right Honourable Sir Terence Etherton,
The Master of the Rolls, June 2018111

Appendix A
Members of the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives
The Master of the Rolls chairs the Advisory Council. The Master of the Rolls was
originally responsible for the safe-keeping of charters, patents and records of important
court judgments. Today he is President of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) and Headof Civil Justice. The current Master of the Rolls is the Rt Hon Sir Terence Etherton.
Four new members – Moira Andrews, Liz Copper, John Wood and Peter Gooderham –were appointed to the Advisory Council in January 2018.
During the period covered by this report, one member – Dr William Peace – stood down
and seven members – Professor Rodney Brazier, Mr John Collins, Mr John Evans, Ms
Sarah Fahy, Mr Stephen Hawker and Mr John Millen – came to the end of their terms.
In September, Ms Hillary Bauer, Ms Lesley Ferguson and Mr Michael Smyth werereappointed for three years; Mr Trevor Woolley was reappointed for four years and Sir
John Ramsden was reappointed for one year.
The current members of the Council are:
Lady Moira Andrews, Director, Praetor Legal Aid Ltd and ADS Group Ltd; Research
Fellow, King’s College London; former Government Legal Adviser.
Ms Hillary Bauer OBE, adviser on culture and heritage issues; formerly Head ofInternational and Cultural Property Unit, Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Ms Liz Copper, Senior Broadcast Journalist, BBC News; pupil barrister; broadcast
journalist, BBC News; Crown Prosecution Service Panel Advocate.
Ms Lesley Ferguson, Head of Archives and Engagement, Historic Environment
Scotland.
Dr Helen Forde, historian and archivist; formerly board member of the Museums andLibraries Association; Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Postal Museum; VicePresident of the Society of Antiquaries.
Dr Peter Gooderham, CMG, former Ambassador to the UN and WTO in Geneva.
Ms Angela Kelly, Senior Legal Adviser and Examiner of Statutory Rules, Northern
Ireland Assembly.
Dr Elizabeth Lomas, Senior Lecturer in Information Governance, University College
London; formerly Head of Records Management Services for the Royal Household.
Sir John Ramsden Bt, formerly HM Ambassador to Croatia; formerly Head, Central
and North West Europe Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Mr Michael Smyth CBE QC (Hon), Member Legal Services Board and Fundraising
Regulator; former Head of Government Practice, Clifford Chance.

112Ms Jeannette Strickland, independent archive and records consultant; formerly Headof Art, Archives and Records Management, Unilever.
Mr John Wood, solicitor; Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA)
Independent Member; formerly Charity Commission for England and Wales Legal Board
Member and Board Consultant; formerly Herbert Smith Freehills, Partner, thenConsultant.
Mr Trevor Woolley CB, non-executive director, Oil and Pipelines Agency; formerly
Director General, Ministry of Defence.
The Secretary to the Council is currently Anne Hardy of The National Archives.

Members of the Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic
Research
Advisory Council members Hillary Bauer, Lesley Ferguson, Elizabeth Lomas, Helen
Forde and Jeannette Strickland also sit on the Forum.
The Secretary to the Forum is currently Anne Hardy of The National Archives.

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Annex C
Annual Report of the Independent Complaint Reviewer
2017-201825
Jodi Berg OBE is the Independent Complaints Reviewer (ICR) for The National
Archives. She has a background as a solicitor and a mediator, and acts as the ICR forother public bodies.
The ICR service is free to people unhappy with the answers they have received to theircomplaints from The National Archives. The ICR Office responds to all enquiries in an
efficient and courteous way.
Introduction by Jodi Berg OBE
I am pleased to present my final annual report as ICR. This service was established in
2000, and since then it has been my role to respond to complaints escalated toindependent review when people are unhappy with the response given by The National
Archives itself, and to monitor the operation of its internal complaint process.
In my very first annual report, I noted that the provision of this service recognised theimportance of ensuring public confidence in the way that the organisation carries out its
important role, and demonstrates its wish to be held accountable in a very direct way.
Since then, the commitment of The National Archives has not wavered in terms of its
commitment to the service and to learning from complaints.
The National Archives retains an enviable, international reputation for quality in its roleas the custodian of the nation’s records. It also enjoys a well-deserved reputation for the
excellence of its facilities and for the courtesy and efficiency of its staff. However,problems do occur from time to time. In general, complaints are resolved internally andthis year we were contacted by only a handful of dissatisfied customers.
ICR review has considered what people can reasonably expect from The National
Archives and whether standards were met in their case. Over the years, The National
Archives has unfailingly responded in a positive way to recommendations I have madein response to complaints, either for individual redress, such as an apology, or systemic
improvements. I have enjoyed constructive relationships with successive Chief
Executives and Keepers, none more so than Jeff James who has shown admirable
leadership in this important area.
Overview of complaint activity and examples
Between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018, The National Archives recorded 61
complaints, a decrease from 74 last year. Most of these were resolved without thecomplainant needing to escalate their concerns to Internal Review by the Chief
Executive’s Office. Only two of these complaints resulted in referral to the ICR Office.

25

Following a competitive procurement exercise, The National Archives engaged ch&i Associates as Independent
Complaints Reviewer from 01 Apr 18.

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The National Archives also recorded 71 compliments, a marked decrease from the 157
compliments recorded last year, but reflects the impact of the changes made to theYour Views feedback streams last year. These changes included how feedback fromthe Collections, Expertise and Engagement Department was obtained, and a survey
was introduced, developed specifically to enable The National Archives to better
understand user’s experiences of the service. This data has to be set in context against
The National Archives’ public contact and this year The National Archives dealt withover 34,000 telephone enquiries, over 13,000 live chat contacts, over 29,000 writtenenquiries, and it supplied over 540,000 documents to customers, mainly directly to the
public. In the overall scheme of this extensive customer contact, complaints are very
few in number and referrals to the ICR are rare.
As always, this year we have had several requests for help from people who have notyet been through The National Archives’ internal complaints procedure. These
customers have been referred on to The National Archives. Where we can, we offer
general advice or assistance that they have been unable to obtain through initial contact
with The National Archives. This year we responded to nine people who were looking
for help and information about a variety of issues:The removal of self-service printing facilities at the National Archives

The National Archives document digitisation charges

A request to correct information held by The National Archives

Rudeness on the part of a The National Archives’ member of staff who allegedly
laughed at a member of the public who pointed out a distressing mistake in therecords

The delay in moving documents held by The National Archives at Portsmouth to
Kew.

Where complaints referred to me are premature, we have asked The National Archives
to provide a response to the issue. On each occasion that we have done so, The
National Archives has immediately contacted the individual and taken their concerns
forward. This year none of these complaints were referred back to me for review.
However, a complaint review carried over from the previous year was completed.
Case study
The complainant contacted The National Archives concerned that wording in the 2015
Information Fair Trader Scheme report on Ordnance Survey did not accurately reflect
the actual wording in the Download Terms Licence and asked for a revision. The matter
was considered by The National Archives and an amendment was made, however thecomplainant felt that the revised wording remained inaccurate and continued to pursue
the matter. The complaint was reviewed within The National Archives’ internal process
culminating in a response from the Chief Executive and Keeper, which accepted that
there were procedural matters that could have been handled better, although no further
amendment to the record would be made. The complainant referred the matter to me
and complained about the delay in implementing recommendations that had been
accepted by the Chief Executive and Keeper, and had also failed to take disciplinary
steps in relation to staff attitudes and communication previously complained about.

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I raised these issues with The National Archives which then took action to implement
the recommendations. I acknowledged that this had been done and that in this way thecomplaint has had a positive and constructive benefit on The National Archives’processes, which will serve to be of assistance to others in the future. However, I
recognised that the implementation of review recommendations took longer than may
have been expected. Had The National Archives given a clear indication of how longthings might take, it would have made it unnecessary to raise further concerns. I
recommended that this should happen in the future.
It also transpired that the complaint against the member of staff had not been taken
forward as there was a disconnect between general complaint procedures andcomplaints against individual members of staff, which were considered to be humanresource issues. I recommended that The National Archives should review its complaint
procedures to make an appropriate link with human resource/disciplinary procedures
where complaints against individual members of staff are raised. It should be explained
to a complainant at the outset how such matters will be taken forward and that they will
not be told the outcome of such an investigation, as far as any action taken with regard
to the individual staff member is concerned. If an investigation ascertains that acomplaint was justified, then the customer should be given an appropriate apology ifthat is warranted. The National Archives has accepted these recommendations.
Overview of The National Archives’ learning from complaints and customer
feedback
The following examples demonstrate that The National Archives takes customer
feedback seriously and continues to try and improve its service to customers:


In May 2018, The National Archives’ new events and learning space wascompleted with seating for approximately 250 people, who will be able to enjoy arange of events including talks, performances, and screenings for diverse
audience groups and numbers



The number of documents that visitors can order in advance was increased fromsix to 12 records. This change has been popular and advance orders haveincreased.

The National Archives has implemented a number of changes this year which haveaffected service users:

The National Archives no longer provides self-service printing facilities or camera
stations for users on site, which has resulted in some concerns being raised withthis officeDigital documents can now be downloaded on site and sent via email, free ofcharge

Ordering times were adjusted to commence at 09:30 and finish at 16:00 every
day.

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Finally
The National Archives will be making new arrangements for independent review for the
coming year and I wish the new service provider every success. I have every
confidence that The National Archives will be supportive of the process as they havealways been during my term of appointment. I note with thanks The National Archives’view of the service it has been my privilege to provide:‘Having an ICR provides an extra level of assurance to us as an organisation,and to our users, that we deal with complaints in a fair and proper manner.
Having access to a source of expertise on dealing with difficult customer service
issues has been invaluable over the last 20 years, with both strategic andpractical advice being offered. The Complaints Manager in any organisation cansometimes be an isolated position, and having that external source of advice andvalidation can be reassuring.’
I record my thanks to The National Archives’ Customer Service and Complaints Team,and to the Programme Management Office for their interest in customer complaints andfeedback, and for their assistance with referrals and ICR review.

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CCS0418428500
ISBN 978-1-5286-0322-5

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