Information Governance Framework

Records management policy

Information is one of the council’s key corporate assets. The council needs to ensure that information is available when necessary to allow it to function properly and also to comply with the law.

A record is considered to be a record of the council’s business that needs to be managed and kept. Records exist, for example on paper, in systems, as emails and as electronic records on network drives.

All records go through a lifecycle – from when someone decides there is a need for a record, through to destruction, or the decision to keep the record permanently. The records management lifecycle includes the following:

• managed
• created
• stored
• retained
• retrieved
• disposed of

The law

The council manages records in accordance with the Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on the Management of Records, found under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act.

Also taken into account are the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation that requires organisations such as the council to take appropriate care of personal information.

Other business functions within the council may also be subject to specific legislation and this is also taken into consideration when necessary.

For further information please contact us.

We have a Data Quality Framework that sets out the process of data quality assurance to verify the reliability and effectiveness of data.

Being confident in your data means that:

• It is appropriate, reliable, accurate and trustworthy
• It is captured and stored in an appropriate way
• It is well analysed
• It is fit-for-purpose
• Any legal or security obligations are met
• There are robust supporting information systems in place
• The right systems, processes and skills are in place to enable the support of sharing data between other departments and third party organisations.

For further information please contact us.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how we are looking after your personal information or about the response you have received to a request for information you can ask for an Internal Review (complaint investigation).

Please see our Information Complaints Policy [PDF, 438Kb] for details of how we will carry out an Internal Review (complaint investigation).

Please contact one of our Information, Advice and Guidance Centres or call our Information Governance Team on 01724 296224 for assistance.

If you are still unhappy following the completion of our Internal Review (complaints process) you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Details of this process are on the Information Commissioner’s website.

For further information, please contact us.