The Glamorgan Archives Joint Committee met on Friday 12 June 2026 to review the quarterly report detailing the activities of the archives, and to consider the financial outturn for the 2025/26 financial year. The committee also reviewed the draft Audit Wales Minor Bodies Return for the same period.

Quarterly Report for March to May 2026

The committee was scheduled to receive the quarterly report from the Glamorgan Archivist, Laura Cotton, covering the period from 1 March to 31 May 2026. This report, presented as part of the new Strategic Plan 2026-2031, was expected to detail the work and achievements of Glamorgan Archives. The report highlighted progress against the archive's annual plan, focusing on six key outcomes:

• Outcome A: User communities are able to access the service's resources, no matter where they are in the world, through enhanced provision of digital services. This included the launch of an online exhibition on Hughesovka: An Industrial City with Welsh Roots, blog posts by volunteers, social media engagement, and continued work on the Crowd Cymru project, which had received the 2026 Archives and Records Association Volunteering Award. Digital preservation efforts were ongoing, with the Preservica system being populated and work continuing on an all-Wales consortium for digital preservation. Digitisation of parish registers for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia was completed.
• Outcome B: A wider range of people are aware of Glamorgan Archives and the work that the service does. This was to be achieved through engaging communities with their cultural heritage, including visits from interns from the June Givanni PanAfrican Cinema Archive and representatives from chapels in the Merthyr Tydfil area. The archive also partnered with the Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel on the Kumbukumbu project and supported the Heritage in Motion exhibition. The talks programme was expanded, with events on topics such as Casglu Enwau Lleoedd Cymru (Collecting Welsh Place Names) and Patchwork and Protest. Introductory materials, including a community zine titled Our Favourite Objects, were also being developed.
• Outcome C: People of all ages have developed knowledge and skills through engagement with Glamorgan Archives. This outcome was to be addressed through a broad range of volunteering opportunities, with 42 volunteers contributing 946 hours during the quarter on various cataloguing and conservation projects. The report also detailed engagement with schools, including a new education resource, The Black Diamond and Beyond: Hidden Hands and Healing Lands, funded by the Welsh Government's Anti-Racist Wales Fund. Formal education workshops were attended by 506 visitors. Engagement with higher and further education students was also noted.
• Outcome D: The legal and evidential value of archives is at the forefront of the service's work. This involved broadening links with services in the six constituent local authorities, including hosting meetings for Cardiff Council's Welsh Language Co-ordinators and contributing to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council's 'Herstory' map project. Conversations were ongoing with Cardiff Council's Legal department regarding record retention. The service also continued to proactively collect collections at risk, and the conservator undertook commissions for external organisations.
• Outcome E: Collections, that are relevant and representative of the area and local communities, are gathered, kept and shared using the best professional standards. This was being addressed through external funding applications, including a collaborative application for the Archives Revealed Fund for theatre collections. Work was continuing on a National Manuscripts Conservation Trust-funded project repairing plans and drawings by William Burges of Cardiff Castle. The report also detailed the focus on staff time for incomplete work on collections, with receipts for accessions being issued within target times.
• Outcome F: Resources are managed to the best possible advantage with all due consideration given to sustainability and value-for-money, whilst maintaining a flexible and agile service. This included planning for an expansion of the existing Glamorgan Archives building, with work continuing on sorting collections to estimate remaining space. Remedial repairs to emergency lighting had started due to funding issues for a wider project. Discussions were underway with the building's maintenance contractor regarding environmental sustainability work. The report also noted the departure of Records Assistant Stefan Walker after 23 years of service and Relief Records Assistant Imogen Mountjoy.

Financial Reports

The committee was also scheduled to review the 2025/26 Final Outturn Position & Draft Audit Wales Minor Bodies Return. This report, presented by Christopher Lee, Treasurer to the Glamorgan Archives Joint Committee, provided an overview of the financial performance for the year ending 31 March 2026.

The report detailed the actual expenditure and income against the approved budget of £900,000. The outturn position showed that net expenditure matched the budget, largely due to higher-than-anticipated income. Significant variances were noted in Supplies & Services, which was overspent due to grant-funded activity, and Income, which was substantially higher than budgeted, primarily from Welsh Government grants and New Burdens funding. The report indicated that a contribution was made to the General Reserve rather than a drawdown being required.

The draft Audit Wales Minor Bodies Return for the year ended 31 March 2026 was also presented for information. The report outlined the financial implications, legal implications, and provided recommendations for noting the outturn position and the draft Minor Bodies Return, and for the Committee Chair to be authorised to sign the Minor Bodies Return.

The committee was also due to discuss the Date of the next meeting, which was scheduled for 11 September 2026 at 2pm.