This case study forms part of "Guidance for libraries and archives on Local Government Reorganisation" which aims to support library and archive Head of Services to prepare for local government reorganisation and the impact this will have on their services. The guidance has been written for Libraries Connected, The National Archives, the Local Government Association and Arts Council England by Shared Intelligence.
LGR context
Staffordshire’s joint archives service was established in 1997, coinciding with Stoke-on-Trent becoming a new unitary authority. The primary motivation for the joint service was service resilience, because a standalone archive service for Stoke on its own was considered potentially unsustainable due to its size. A joint agreement between Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council offered a sustainable scale and operational stability.
Model
The joint service was designed to create a resilient archive service for both city and county. It is governed by a joint committee working to a joint agreement which sets out how the committee works, its members, budgets, and decision-making powers. The initial agreement was only for three years but it has since been amended through a series of renewals. Staffordshire has two cabinet Members on the joint committee whereas Stoke has one cabinet Member. This reflects the size of the respective councils and their budgets.
The budget arrangements of the model are complex. While a core joint budget exists on paper, in practice each authority funds its own staff and sites. Staffordshire covers additional costs such as the joint head of the service and the online catalogue. Originally the budget split was based on population (75% county, 25% city) but this formula was removed in 2021 in response to budget cuts being made by Staffordshire, and since then there has been no formal formula.
Opportunities and challenges
A key strength of the joint service was the establishment of a financial reserve mechanism. Here, any underspends on the service are transferred into the service’s own reserves rather than to each council’s general funds. This has created the ability to reinvest underspend into the service and to support major projects, such as the redevelopment of the Staffordshire History Centre.
Another advantage of the joint service is the opportunity for increased service visibility and advocacy. The joint committee structure provides regular opportunities to showcase achievements and demonstrate the value of the service.
In the archives context, a lot of care must be taken if statutory Places of Deposit (PoDs) need to be established or discontinued, to respond to on changing boundaries. This occurred in Staffordshire with the opening of the Stoke PoD in 1997 and the closure of Lichfield Record Office in 2018. The process of opening or closing PoDs has to be done in consultation with The National Archives and ideally it should also include local stakeholders and depositors. It can be costly, complex and is often driven by local political factors.
