Searching for Information

City of Edinburgh Council

Kevin Wilbraham, Information Governance ManagerHenry Sullivan, Records Manager

Jill Walker, FOI Manager

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Seminar Outcomes

• Increase understanding of the relationship between FOI & public records legislation

• Promote the value of a positive relationship between FOI officers & records managers

• Practical advice about making searches effective in your own authority & about holding colleagues to account for the results they provide

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Searching for information

“Freedom of information legislation is only as good as the quality of the records and other information to which it provides access. Access rights are of limited value if information cannot be found when requested or, when found, cannot be relied upon as authoritative.”

(Section 61 Code of Practice on Records Management)

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CEC structure

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FOI & Edinburgh

July 2013 – March 2014

▪ 2042 requests (FOISA/ EIRS/ INSPIRE)

▪ 61 (9%) requests – Sec.17 notice/ Reg. 10(4)a

▪ 404 (20%) – further searches required

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RECORDS MANAGEMENT & FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

Henry Sullivan

What is good Records Management?

From here… … to here

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What is good Records Management?• Knowing what records you create & why• Being confident those records are accurate &

comprehensive • Being able to find those records easily & without

“insider” knowledge• Being consistent & transparent around the access,

editing, closure & disposal of records• Being clear about who has what responsibilities around

managing records• Ensuring a complete audit trail of the ‘life’ of a record

Checklist Procedures on how you create, manage & dispose of ALL records within

your organisation Retention rules that cover all records & organisational functions Disposal registers recording all records disposed Record registry listing all types of record – covering paper forms through to

email & IT business systems Business classification scheme Records Management Policy setting out responsibilities from the Chief

Executive down Records Centre for inactive records; Archives for permanently preserved

records Induction & training programme that cover policies, procedures &

responsibilities Audit / review of procedures & compliance

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Benefits & risks

Good RM• Supports governance• Improves business

efficiency & confidence• Underpins statutory

compliance• Ensures accountability• Protects rights &

interests (organisational & individual)

Bad RM• Poor decision making• Inconsistent &

inefficient services• Financial or legal

penalties• Reputational loss

(externally & internally)

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Records Management Standards

• Section 61 Code of Practice

• ISO 15489: 2001 Information & Documentation – Records Management

• ISO 30301: 2011 Information & Documentation – Management System for Records

Why is records management important to FOI?• Information has to be adequately captured & managed by

public authorities for FOI to work• Managing requests

▪ ‘To hold or not to hold’ – that is the Section 17 question▪ More efficient & resilient information retrieval▪ Better recording of how FOI requests are handled; helps with reviews

& OSIC involvement

• Managing obligations▪ Routine & transparent disposal reduces the risk of releasing

redundant & embarrassing information▪ Greater awareness of & confidence in records supports an

organisation’s publication scheme

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Public Records (Scotland) Act, 2011• Came from poor record keeping practices in Scottish

social care ▪ 2007 Historic Abuse Systemic Review of Residential Schools &

Children’s Homes in Scotland (Shaw Report)

• Public authorities to detail their records management policies & procedures via a Records Management Plan ▪ Submitted to the Keeper of the Public Records of Scotland for

review & approval▪ Model Records Management Plan – 14 Elements

• Contractors & public records

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Records Management Plan

1. Senior management responsibility

2. Records manager responsibility

3. Records management policy statement

4. Business classification 5. Retention schedules 6. Destruction arrangements 7. Archiving & transfer

arrangements

8. Information security 9. Data protection 10. Business continuity & vital

records 11.Audit trail 12. Competency framework

for records management staff

13. Assessment & review 14. Shared information

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Business Classification

• Map of your organisation’s functions, activities & structures▪ Local Government Classification Scheme▪ Ties your records registry to a corporate overview

• Important tool for FOI info retrieval & publication scheme

• Producing a map is the easy part – tying it to your records is the hard part

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Retention Schedules• List of all your retention rules together• Governs / documents when you close your records, when

you dispose of them & what happens to them at that point• Retention Rule

▪ Description▪ Trigger▪ Retention▪ Disposal

• Essential to records management & FOI• Scottish Council on Archives Record Retention Schedules

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Audit Trail• Every action taken on a record (creation, use, updates

etc.) to be documented with when it happened & who performed it▪ Paper records with ‘tracking cards’ & registry controls▪ Document control info within records▪ Electronic records – difficult without EDRMS

• Vital for records when used as legal evidence• Important for FOI

▪ Section 17 Notices - challenged via published business classification schemes & retention rules & then reviewed with audit trail information

Improving records management through FOI• Bad FOI responses = bad records management

▪ Risks are often the same – ‘Information Risks’

• Challenge & point out common FOI issues are business issues too, which can be solved with better records management▪ Time it takes to identify & locate relevant information = slower, less

efficient decision making▪ Being unsure about the completeness / accuracy of what is being

released = lack of decision-making confidence + legal / financial risk

• Records management as the ugly duckling of information governance▪ Needs to use what drivers it can to gain profile & support

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Questions

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Activity

• Split into four groups of five• Each group will be asked to identify:

▪ 3 risks that bad records management practices around email pose to handling information requests

▪ 3 ways your organisation could improve how it manages email as records with particular reference to the PR(S)A

• Record your group notes on a flip chart• Nominate one person in your group as a

spokesperson for feedback

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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION & SEARCHING

Jill Walker

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Why is searching important?• Adequate searches of relevant information and records help an

authority to identify what information it holds

▪ Decision 300/2013 Ms Zerrin Lovett & the Scottish Ministers“In deciding whether a Scottish public authority holds the requested information for the purposes of regulation 10(4)(a), the standard proof is the civil law standard of the balance of probabilities. In deciding where the balance lies, the Commissioner will consider the scope, quality, thoroughness and results of the steps taken by the public authority to identify and locate the information in question. She will consider whether these steps were proportionate, in the circumstances of that particular case. She will also consider, where appropriate, any other reason offered by the public authority to explain why the information is not held.”

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Why is searching important

• Assists with the provision of evidence of adequate searches having been carried out should an appeal be submitted to the Scottish Information Commissioner

Benefits of carrying out adequate searches• Adequate and thorough searches help to identify and locate all

relevant recorded information held prior to responding to a request

• Searching facilitates the provision of the correct response first time

▪ Decision 050/2013 – Rory Cassidy & the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police

“The Commissioner would urge Strathclyde Police to ensure that, when responding to future information requests, they take proper steps to establish whether they actually hold information that has been requested before responding to an applicant, & that they give appropriate notice in cases where some or all of the requested information is not held.”

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Benefits of carrying out adequate searches

• Carrying out thorough searches prior to providing a response to the request is time saving for the authority in the long run

• Less cost to authority of processing the request for information

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Case Studies

• Split into four groups of five• Each group will be given a case study to consider• The purpose of the case study is to;

▪ Encourage you to consider and note down the steps an FOI officer should take to ensure that an information request is responded to within 20 working days

▪ Assist you in creating a search checklist for use by your public authority

• Record your group notes & checklist on a flip chart• Nominate one person in your group as a

spokesperson for feedback

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Conclusion - Whittle Decision

• In Decision 169/2013 the Commissioner expressed concern that the City of Edinburgh Council’s response to Mr Whittle’s request & requirement for review purported to withhold information by relying on a particular exemption, thereby implying that relevant information was held.

• The Commissioner commented that even when an authority is certain that any information covered by a request would be exempt under an exemption in FOISA, it must firstly establish whether it holds that information.  If no relevant information is held a notice under section 17(1) should be served.