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.