Operational Selection Policy Public Consultation
The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) is responsible for the management of The Royal Mail Archive. The Archive contains records relating to the history, development and operation of Royal Mail Group Ltd and its predecessor bodies from 1636 to the present day.
These records have been designated public records under section 10(1) and the First Schedule of the 1958 Public Records Act. This means that they must be managed in accordance with public record legislation, and standards and guidelines issued by The National Archives (TNA).
While the BPMA (in line with TNA) has had an Acquisition and Disposition Policy since 2004, which sets out, in general terms, what The Royal Mail Archive will collect, there is currently no documentation that describes, in more detail, the kinds of records that it should be acquiring.
The BPMA intends to rectify this through the publication of an Operational Selection Policy (OSP). OSPs were originally devised by TNA to apply the collection themes laid out in its Acquisition and Disposition Policy to departments and agencies across government. They are intended to be working tools for those involved in the selection of public records.
The OSP put together by the BPMA will provide guidance for members of staff at the BPMA and Royal Mail involved in the selection of records for permanent retention in The Royal Mail Archive. It covers the period from 1969, when the Post Office was nationalised, to 2006 when the United Kingdom letters market was opened up to full competition. It is not an exhaustive statement of all records that will be selected for permanent preservation but it is intended to provide a clear direction to those who are making review decisions.
As OSPs are usually the subject of public consultation, the BPMA would welcome comments on it from interested parties. Public consultation runs from Monday 18 January until Sunday 11 April 2010.
Comments should be sent to: osp@postalheritage.org.uk. Alternatively, letters can be sent to:OSP, British Postal Museum & Archive, Freeling House, Phoenix Place, London, WC1X 0DL.
If you require this document in an alternative format, let us know and we will do our best to meet your requirements.
Read the Operational Selection Policy (OSP).
