Tony and Records Management Listserve members

Can we also have a discussion on the following topics- which have caused a
great deal of debate within our FOI Working Group:

1. Members records of a Local Authority- has anyone looked at what records
are accessible and how these records should be managed?

2. Contractors records- under the  LCD's Code of Practice on Access, section
46 it states that
Section 5(1)(b) of the Act empowers the Lord Chancellor to designate as
public authorities for the purposes of the Act, persons (or bodies) who
provide under a contract made with a public authority, any service whose
provision is a function of that authority. Thus, some non-public authority
contractors will be regarded as public authorities within the meaning of the
Act, although only in respect of the services provided under the contract.
As such, and to that extent, the contractor will be required to comply with
the Act like any other public authority.

Are Records Managers informing their Authorities to write to all
organisations carrying out functions on how the accessible records are going
to be managed (due to access requests needing to be dealt with by the
Contract manager rather than the contractor).  Are Authorities planning on
issuing variations to the contracts and has it been agreed by the
Authorities/contractors on who is going to bear the cost of storing the
records?

Has anyone looked at how the records of contractors are being kept
currently??

3. Multi-agency records- I have looked at the DCA's protocols on data
sharing and various examples from their library on how records are to be
managed and I was interested to find very limited guidance on how multi-
agencies were going to manage their records (following LCD's Code of
Practice on Records Management).  There were broad brushed statements within
the protocols that there had to be guidance but that was it.  Has anyone
else come across the same issues?

4. Drafts of reports, policies- has anyone addressed the issue of whether
drafts will be accessible.  I suppose that this is particularly important as
a result of Hutton.

Would be interested in a discussion- I have been reading the LGA's
'Delivering Freedom of Information' but cannot seem to find any guidance on
these issues.

Regards

Gillian

Gillian Whichelo
Records Manager
Royal Borough of Kingston
[log in to unmask]



-----Original Message-----
From: Tony May [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 29 April 2004 10:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FOI definition - what is held?


Hi all
The UK FOI act continually mentions information we hold, information held
by an organisation. However it never defines the word "held".

Has anyone obtained a definition of the word held?

I am currently using the ISO 15489 definition of a record within our
records management policy;

Records ? information created, received and maintained as evidence or
information by an organisation or person, in pursuance of legal obligations
or in the transaction of business.

To my mind this could be used as a definition of what is held by the
organisation. However as "held" has not been defined I am looking for other
opinions and thoughts.

Please reply on list as I think this is a very interesting area and could
create a good discussion.

Thanks
Tony May
Documents Manager
Hertfordshire County Council
Phone: 01992 556 729
Comnet 26729





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