Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 05 February 2025.

The minutes of the last meeting held on 05 February 2025 were confirmed and signed.

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work, or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit either 1 question or 1 statement for each meeting.  You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via MS Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.   If you submit a statement for the committee this will be circulated to all members of the committee in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes for the formal record but will not be read out at the meeting. The first 8 questions and the first 8 statements received from members of the public or organisations for each meeting will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline set out below.  Further information read Public Participation - Dorset Council  

All submissions must be emailed in full to [email protected] by 8.30am on Friday 31 October 2025.

When submitting your question or statement please note that:  

·       You can submit 1 question or 1 statement. 

·       A question may include a short pre-amble to set the context.  

·       It must be a single question and any sub-divided questions will not be permitted. 

·       Each question will consist of no more than 450 words, and you will be given up to 3 minutes to present your question.  

·       When submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g., the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder)  

·       Include your name, address, and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting.  

·       Questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda.  

·       All questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.  

There were no public questions.

To receive questions submitted by councillors.

Councillors can submit up to two valid questions at each meeting and sub divided questions count towards this total.   Questions and statements received will be published as a supplement to the agenda and all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.

The submissions must be emailed in full to [email protected] by 08:30am on Friday 31 October 2025.

Constitution - Dorset Council – Procedure Rule 13.

There were no questions from councillors.

To consider a report from the Service Manager for Archives and Records.

The Service Manager for Archives and Records presented the report for the Joint Archives Service (JAS) budget monitoring and budget setting for 2026/27. It was explained that the report gives an overview of the budget position. The JAS was over budget and was looking to increase by £32,000 next year. This year the service managed to bring in £72,000 from two separate Dorset Estates for the archives.  Since 2010 the service had raised over £1 million in external funding.  During 2024-25 £800,000 was invested in the Dorset History Centre to bring the building to good working order.

It was noted that section three of the report showed the current financial position. A minor saving was made involving an employee dropping a day per week of work which would help meet next year’s budget. Section five covered the salary and building energy costs. Dorset History Centre was about to sign a new contract with Ancestry. A benefit of this new contract was to include a free subscription to Ancestry for both Dorset Council and BCP’s library services worth approximately £10,000 per annum to each library service.

The reserve position was around £56,000; it was previously capped at £50,000 but increased due to minor savings.

In response to a question the Service Manager for Archives and Records explained that of the figures under 5.5, the lower figures were a part of the recommendation brought with this report.

The recommendation was proposed by Cllr Dedman and seconded by Cllr Beddow.

Decision:

1.    That the Joint Archives Board request the budget uplift from each council as detailed in the report noting the budgetary pressures on the service and the steps it has taken to manage its outgoings.

2.    That the Joint Archives Board agree to the JAS deploying the service reserve to match fund the Development Phase of the capital project, assuming the National Lottery Heritage Fund application is successful in March 2026.

To consider a report from the Service Manager for Archives and Records.

The Service Manager for Archives and Records introduced the report. The report detailed ideas for realistic increases to charges where there was a tolerance to pay fees. There had been increasing resistance to paying fees, but this information was anecdotal. It was suggested that the service should look at what other archive services are charging for similar services and try to match a medium position. The service was trying to increase income wherever possible. By increasing the quantity of online content via Ancestry, it would make it realistic enough for people to want to pay.

In response to members questions the Service Manager for Archives and Records provided the following responses:

-          The Service Manager for Archives and Records explained that it is not very common that TV companies come to their service. It was fortunate that they had the interest from them to come to them.

-          It was explained that some lines in the report for services don’t show previous because they are new.

-          It was suggested that the TV companies were possibly not aware that the service exists which resulted in the lack of interest.

-           

The recommendations were proposed by Cllr Beddow and seconded by Cllr Hope.

Decision: That the revised fees and charges, as set out in the appendix to the report, be recommended to the executive bodies of the two funding councils for implementation from 1 April 2026.

To consider a report from the Service Manager for Archives and Records.

The Service Manager for Archives and Records presented the report for the Development Plan. The executive summary highlighted the achievements of the service. It was mentioned that this service plan was due to expire the following year but had every intention of revising and renewing the plan to something similar. Contingent on the new plan was the success of the Lottery application which would have fundamentally changed the way the service operates over the future years. Two key challenges were highlighted; the first was capital investment and the second was the collection of records in both paper and digital forms. There was extra staff working on the projects, and there was still a high level of interest in the archives.

There were two archive apprentices that were doing well and would complete their programs in October 2026. A new advisory group had been set up for museums to pick up on areas of interest. It was noted that volunteering is strong and the service would like to do more but was limited by what could be managed. An aspect of the Lottery project was to take on more of a wider community for the archives. The online catalogue had swelled to 420,000 entries. Multiple projects including the Wessex Water and the Bournemouth Yellow Busses projects were mentioned alongside their success. The application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund was to gain resources for a hoped-for project to create around 22,000 box spaces along with improvements to the DHC building and a large-scale public engagement programme.

The following responses were provided in answer to questions from members

-          The Service Manager for Archives and Records spoke regarding AI’s future involvement in the service saying that certain parts could be conceived such as reading and cataloguing once AI reaches a certain level of intelligence, but there would always be a human presence to make sure the documents are being handled correctly. There will be an upward demand for online services as more documents were created and more would be used and so were keen to reduce the need to be in person.

-          It was mentioned that libraries, archives and museums should be joined up more to look at better sustainability.

The recommendations were proposed by Cllr Dedman and seconded by Cllr Florek.

Decision:

1.    That the Joint Archives Board endorses the implementation of the 2021-2026 service plan appended to this report as demonstrating the quality, variety and value for money provided by the Joint Archives Service;

2.    That the Joint Archives Board supports the Joint Archives Service's ongoing work to ensure the safe and effective transfer of appropriate physical and digital records from both BCP and Dorset Councils to ensure the preservation of the corporate memory and to deliver council efficiencies;

3.    That the Joint Archives Board endorses the Joint Archives Service’s application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund to facilitate major capital improvements to Dorset History Centre.

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph x of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.

There was no exempt business.