Knowhow Business Consultancy Services

Freedom Of Information Act 2000

With effect from 1 January 2005, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 placed new obligations upon all Public Authorities with respect to the management of Public Records ( www.dataprotection.gov.uk ). Whereas the Data Protection Acts concern themselves with 'personal data', the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is concerned with other information stored and managed by Public Authorities.

The Lord Chancellor's Code of Practice

The Lord Chancellor has laid down a code of practice on the discharge of Public Authorities functions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Information Commissioner has a duty to promote the observance of the code and is able to enforce it through issuance of practice recommendations and contempt of court actions.

Effective Management of Public Records

All Public Authorities are strongly advised to be guided by the Lord Chancellors Code Of Practice on effective management of Public Records under Section 46 of the FOI Act 2000. This code sets out practices and arrangements to be followed by Public Authorities in relation to creation, keeping, management and destruction of their records (paper and electronic). Section 10 of the code states that the implementation of a Public Records Office approved Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) is needed to manage electronic records effectively.

Paragraph 10 of the Code describes a number of requirements, which are not met by standard electronic filing systems such as Windows. It is made clear that if authorities rely upon these filing systems they would be in non-compliance with the code of practice and it is possible that enforcement action would follow in due course. The described requirements demand the deployment of an ERMS that has been approved by the PRO, which manages documents when they become records (after which they are no longer changed).

The Right Solution ?

However, an Electronic Records Management System typically does not provide features to support the document creation and management processes within an organisation before a document becomes a record and therefore does not track or provide information on a document as it evolves into a record. In 1999, the Public Records Office set out the functional requirements for such systems and recommends that a combined Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) is implemented, which is able to manage documents in a secure environment from initial creation to eventual disposal.

In determining a suitable EDRMS technology for a Public Authority, PRO approval is typically only one of the key requirements. Additional requirements such as ease of use and integration with desktop software are also very important.

For assistance with identifying and resolving issues of compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, contact info@knowhowconsulting.co.uk.