The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Joint Archives Committee met on Tuesday 18 November 2025 to review the predicted performance outturn for the 2025-26 financial year, approve the indicative budget for 2026-27, and adjust fees and charges. The committee also approved an updated Loans Policy for the Staffordshire History Centre.

Predicted Performance Outturn 2025/2026

The committee received a report detailing the predicted performance of the Joint Archives Service for the 2025-26 financial year. Joanna Terry presented the report, which outlined progress against the three-year forward plan. Despite challenges posed by staff vacancies, 74% of work streams were rated as green, indicating they were on track for completion. Amber-rated work streams (23.5%) were largely due to delays with the strong rooms project at the Staffordshire History Centre, for which a solution involving additional environmental controls was identified. Red-rated work streams (2.5%) were subject to corrective actions, including developing a business case for increased digital preservation capacity.

Service Demand 1, focusing on collaborative approaches and partnerships, showed strong performance with 17 activities rated green, including collaborative PhD projects with universities and continued success of the Staffordshire History Network. Volunteer engagement remained high, with a 29% increase in volunteer hours.

Service Demand 2, concerning a resilient and sustainable service, had 14 green and six amber activities. Achievements included progress on the Minton Majolica Conservation Programme and the commencement of cleaning works for the William Salt Library collections. However, delays in policy reviews occurred due to vacancies and sickness absence. The relocation of collections to the History Centre was postponed to summer 2026 due to technical issues with temperature control in the strong rooms, with mitigation measures including the procurement of a cooling system. Stoke-on-Trent City Archives achieved Place of Deposit status.

Under Service Demand 3, engagement with audiences, 29 activities were rated green, seven amber, and one red. Highlights included the delivery of the History Centre activity plan, learning programmes, and exhibitions, with digital engagement up by 24% and physical engagement by 171%. Discussions were underway to develop a business case for digital preservation.

The committee noted that while staffing vacancies had presented challenges, overall performance remained strong, with clear recovery actions identified for issues. The Stoke-on-Trent Archives service had addressed previous staffing challenges, with Rebecca continuing as City Archivist and the service integrated into the Libraries management structure, enabling the recruitment of an additional archivist. The Archives service was temporarily closed to the public due to building works at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, but enquiry services remained operational. Plans were in place to integrate archive, museum, and library services for greater public benefit. Funding from the Heritage Fund project supported staff and volunteer training. All previous vacancies had been filled, though recruitment for senior and specialist roles remained challenging.

The committee resolved to note the predicted performance outturn for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service and Staffordshire's Archive and Heritage Service.

Joint Archive Service – Forecast Outturn 2025-26 & 2026-27 Indicative Net Revenue Budget

The committee reviewed the Joint Archives Service's financial position for 2025-26 and the indicative budget for 2026-27. As of January 2026, net expenditure was £731,000, with a forecast break-even position by year-end, including projected underspends of £44,000 due to delays in appointing to a job share post and vacancy turnover. These underspends were to be transferred to respective Joint Archive Service reserves.

For Sites and Public Services, Staffordshire County Council forecasted an underspend of £6,000, and Stoke-on-Trent City Council an underspend of £11,000, which would also be transferred to their respective reserves. The Joint Archive Service held three reserves totalling £567,000 at the start of the financial year. The total reserve balance at the end of 2025-26 was forecast to be approximately £505,000, reflecting planned transactions including a transfer to support the Staffordshire History Centre project.

The indicative net revenue budget for 2026-27 was set at £1,010,000, a reduction of £54,000 from the previous year. Staffordshire County Council's contribution would be £807,000, and Stoke-on-Trent City Council's £203,000. Staffordshire's budget reduction was primarily due to decreased employer pension contributions, offset by provisions for pay awards and increased National Insurance contributions. Stoke-on-Trent's reduction reflected a significant decrease in employer pension contributions, offset by a provision for pay award and increased supplies and services expenditure, funded through a drawdown from its archive reserve.

The committee resolved to note the current 2025-26 net revenue forecast outturn budget position and the predicted 2025-26 Joint Archives Reserve balance, and to approve the indicative 2026-27 net revenue budget.

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service and Staffordshire Archives and Heritage Service: Review of Fees and Charges

The committee considered the annual review of fees and charges for the Archives Service, which had been conducted in accordance with the Joint Archives Agreement. Proposed fees for the forthcoming financial year were presented. Income is generated from copying services, permits, research, certification, donations, visit fees, and commercial partnerships. The Staffordshire History Centre also generates income from education programmes, events, room hire, and retail.

The research service fee was proposed to increase to £40 per hour, with proportionate increases to related charges. The daily photographic permit fee was set to increase to £11 and the annual permit to £55. Fees for reproduction filming would increase based on a sliding scale, and fees for talks and guided tours were proposed to rise by £5 per group to £65. Fees for formal and informal learning activities were to remain unchanged. Charges for computer printouts and photocopying would also remain unchanged to align with Staffordshire Library Service fees.

A member queried the benchmarking of proposed fees and requested additional performance information on income-generating services. Officers confirmed benchmarking against surrounding county archive services and undertook to provide further performance metrics. A discrepancy regarding photocopying charges in Stoke was noted and confirmed to be updated in the appendix.

The committee resolved to approve the proposed fees and charges for introduction by the Joint Archive Service and the Heritage Service from 1 April 2026.

Loans Policy Review

The committee received a report on a minor amendment to the Loans Policy for the Staffordshire History Centre. A specialist security consultant, Vernon Rapley Limited, had concluded that the History Centre was not suitable for the display of high-value or high-profile loaned items. Consequently, an additional clause was added to the policy stating that the History Centre was neither suitable nor intended to display high-value objects.

Officers explained that the design of the History Centre, undertaken between 2017 and 2018, prioritised an open, welcoming, and accessible space, with constraints due to the integration of existing buildings, including a listed structure. Achieving the necessary specifications for high-value object display would have fundamentally altered the project and conflicted with commitments to the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The History Centre would continue to facilitate loans from partner organisations, but further exploration was ongoing regarding borrowing higher-value items.

Developments at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, including a Reimagining the Galleries project with a government indemnified exhibition space, could provide a solution for the secure display of loaned items of higher value, complementing the role of the History Centre.

The committee resolved to approve the updated Loans Policy.

Date of next meeting

The committee resolved that the next meeting would take place on Tuesday 23rd June 2026 at 10:00 am at Stoke-on-Trent City Archives, Potteries Museum and Art Gallery.