About

Join us to hear from Sheila Bennett, Head of Libraries Strategy and Delivery, DCMS and Tim Powell, Places of Deposit Manager, Archive Sector Leadership department about how The National Archives and Department for Culture, Media & Sport can support planning for Local Government reorganisation.

This is the second in a series of webinars delivered jointly by Libraries Connected and The National Archives to support the heads of archives and library services.

In December 2024, the Government published the English Devolution White Paper.

In this, the government has announced that it will facilitate a programme of local government reorganisation for two-tier areas and for those unitary councils where there is evidence of failure or where their size or boundaries may be hindering their ability to deliver sustainable and high-quality services for their residents.

Currently, nearly 40 top-tier authorities have expressed interest in reform which may mean mergers with Districts, and boundary changes for existing top-tier authorities.

This will have major impacts for many archive and library services. They have buildings with specific geographical locations, but more fundamentally their services and collections serve the whole geographical area of their existing parent authority. Boundary changes could have fundamental implications for how they operate, how they design and deliver services, how they manage collections and how they secure funding. It will not be a simple process of “lift and drop” into the new authority.

Who should attend

This webinar is for heads of archives and library services or their chose representative.

Programme

The webinar will explore how reorganisation will affect:

Library superintendence
Place of Deposit status and Archive Service Accreditation
Initial planning - how to engage with DCMS and The National Archives

Additional information

The event will be delivered via MS Teams and will be recorded. A joining link will be sent to attendees in advance.

If you have any questions, please email emma.daniel@librariesconnected.org.uk

Image credit: Marsha Lowe

Local Government Reorganisation: Legal compliance