NORTHERN IRELAND FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE
RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICY
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
2 POLICY STATEMENT
3 THE NEED FOR RECORDS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT
5 SCOPE OF THE POLICY
6 EMAILS
7 RESPONSIBILITY FOR RECORDS MANAGEMENT
8 REGISTRATION OF RECORDS
9 RETENTION AND DISPOSAL
10 HISTORICAL RECORDS
11 SECURITY OF RECORDS
12 TRAINING
13 MONITORING AND REVIEW
14 EQUALITY
15 RELATIONSHIP WITH EXISTING POLICIES
16 RELEVANT LEGISLATION
17 FURTHER INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE
Version: / 1Issue Date: / 1 March 2012
Reviewed & Revised:
Issued By: / Information Officer
NORTHERN IRELAND FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE
RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICY
1 INTRODUCTION
Northern Ireland Fire Rescue Service (NIFRS) is dependent on its records to ensure it operates in an efficient and effective manner. Information is a corporate asset and records are vital to the organisation in its current and future work, for the purposes of accountability, and for an awareness and understanding of its history. They are the corporate memory of the policies, services and decision making processes.
2 POLICY STATEMENT
This Policy will establish a framework to enable NIFRS to achieve a goal of "the creation and management of authentic, reliable and useable records, capable of supporting business functions and activities for as long as they are required" (ISO 15489-1:2002, clause 6.2).
3 THE NEED FOR RECORDS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
There are a number of pieces of legislation which impose the need for effective management of all records, whether in traditional paper or electronic form.
· It is a legislative requirement for NIFRS to implement records management as set out in the Public Records Act (NI) 1923 and in the Disposal of Records Order (SR & O 1925 No 167). The legislation lays down the procedures both for the destruction of old records which have no long-term value and the maintenance of records selected for permanent preservation.
· Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) provides a statutory right of access to information held by Public Authorities (subject to exemptions). The Lord Chancellor's Code of Practice on the management of records under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is intended to support the objectives of the FOI legislation by outlining the practices which should be followed by public authorities in relation to the creating, managing and disposal of records.
· The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) gives individuals the right to access their personal information.
· Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) gives the public a statutory right of access to environmental information held by Public Authorities.
Effective Records Management will not only meet these requirements but enable NIFRS to:
· access records when required and provide timely information for operational need;
· provide secure and legally admissible records which demonstrate accountability;
· provide a corporate memory; and
· improve control over records and optimise use of staff time.
4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT
The aim of this Records Management Policy is to improve the quality of records, to maintain, retain or dispose of the records in accordance with DHSSPS Good Management Good Records and legislative requirements. The objectives are as follows:
· the record is present, accurate and complete;
· the record can be accessed by all departments maintaining effective and secure filing systems that control and track all types of records;
· the record provides a reliable and accountable representation of NIFRS activities and the rationale behind the decision making process;
· the record can be maintained through time for as long as it is needed, perhaps permanently, despite changes of format; and
· the record is disposed of in a timely and appropriate manner.
5 SCOPE OF THE POLICY
This Policy relates to all employees of NIFRS and all records created and received by NIFRS in any format. This includes but is not limited to all paper-based records, electronic records, drawings, maps, plans, audio/visual tapes, CD/DVDs and photographs.
6 EMAILS
The principles of this Policy apply equally to email and it will be necessary to transfer emails relating to business activity and transactions to the appropriate filing system. Emails, like records in hard copy format, need to be managed and retained in accordance with organisational and legislative requirements.
Emails generated or received within NIFRS can be divided into 2 main types:
Business emails – relate to the activities of NIFRS and must be retained as a record. Examples include the provision of advice to either internal or external sources, or authorisation to take a particular course of action; and
Ephemeral emails – facilitate the business of NIFRS but do not necessarily need to be retained for business purposes. Examples include meeting arrangements or copies of minutes circulated for information purposes.
7 RESPONSIBILITY FOR RECORDS MANAGEMENT
NIFRS has a corporate responsibility to maintain its records and record-keeping systems.
Board level responsibility for information management including records is detailed in the NIFRS Code of Best Practice to which the Board are legally required to comply. Section 3 of this document states that “the Board must at all times, in accordance with Government policy on openness, comply fully with the principles of the Citizen's Charter and the Freedom of Information Act 2000”.
The Director of Planning & Corporate Affairs, the Senior Information Responsible Officer (SIRO), co-ordinates, publishes, implements and monitors the records management strategy and reports to the Board regularly. The SIRO is assisted on a day-to-day basis by the Data Protection Officer and Information Officer who provide guidance and advice on the management and retention of records.
Principal Officers, Heads of Departments and Line Managers are responsible for ensuring that the policy is implemented in their individual Departments/Areas.
All members of staff are responsible for:
· ensuring that the records they create or maintain are necessary, accurate, accessible, complete and in accordance with any internal guidance, eg, NIFRS Guidance on Management of Personal Files;
· actions and decisions taken in the course of NIFRS business are properly recorded;
· sending information to the relevant people;
· identifying final versions and destroying non-final versions;
· sending new or revised policies or guidelines to the Information Officer;
· protecting confidential, personal and sensitive information; and
· the closure, retention and disposal of records in compliance with NIFRS Good Management Good Records.
With the introduction of any new policies it is the responsibility of the document owner to ensure that any linkage to other departments is highlighted in order to establish formal information flows and cross functional information exchange mechanisms.
8 REGISTRATION OF RECORDS
Records registration ensures a link between the record and its administrative root.
The registration of records will follow best practice in records management and allow for the users of the records to identify and track particular records and record collections. Departments are responsible for ensuring that records are kept in an appropriate system which should include:
· classification of the records into series that have meaningful titles and a consistent reference code;
· setting a responsibility on individuals creating records to allocate them appropriately in their work area;
· having sequences of reference numbers that can facilitate paper and (where appropriate) electronic records; and
· checking that the correct records have been allocated to the sequence.
9 RETENTION AND DISPOSAL
The retention and disposal of records when they cease to be in active use will be determined by legislative and regulatory requirements and business need. Documents should be retained/destroyed in conjunction with DHSSPS Good Management Good Records (see NIFRS Policies in Global Drive) in a secure manner and a record kept, containing the reference, a description and the date of disposal. An SC297 form must be completed for all records destroyed.
*Where a record due for destruction becomes the subject of a Freedom of Information Request, the destruction should be delayed until the request has been satisfied or, in the case of a refusal, until any complaint or appeal mechanisms have been exhausted.
10 HISTORICAL RECORDS
Historical records are those deemed worthy of preservation for legal, administrative or research purposes. These records will be protected by the relevant Department in consultation with PRONI.
Selected records will be transferred to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) for permanent preservation.
11 SECURITY OF RECORDS
Records management procedures will ensure that records can be maintained securely, with appropriate safeguards and access controls in place and in accordance with NIFRS IS/IT Security Policy.
12 TRAINING
Since all NIFRS employees are involved in creating, maintaining and using records, it is vital that everyone understands their records management responsibilities as set out in this policy and is aware of their obligations regarding Data Protection and Freedom of Information. Line Managers will ensure that, new and existing staff understand the need for records management, are aware of their personal responsibilities and are appropriately trained for the area that they will be working in. Further training may be necessary if any new procedures/ paperwork are introduced.
On commencement of employment staff will receive an induction pack containing relevant records management guidance. All staff will receive IS/IT Training which will also include Data Protection and Freedom of Information awareness. Training requirements will be reviewed to take account of best practice and changes in legislation.
13 MONITORING AND REVIEW
Compliance with this Policy will be monitored by the Director of Planning & Corporate Affairs (SIRO) and reviewed at least every 3 years in accordance with required standards of practice and statutory obligations.
Where audits identify areas of non-conformance, recommendations on the tightening of controls and how compliance can be achieved will be made.
Once this process becomes embedded the SIRO will develop and monitor compliance measures with other Fire & Rescue Services.
14 EQUALITY
NIFRS is committed to equality of opportunity for all employees. This Policy will be reviewed periodically in accordance with Section 75 equality obligations and best practice and also with regard to NIFRS statutory obligations to make NIFRS corporate publications and information accessible in alternative formats, where reasonable.
15 RELATIONSHIP WITH EXISTING POLICIES
This Policy should be read in conjunction with the following:
· Good Management Good Records;
· Publication Scheme;
· Guidance on Management of Personal Files;
· Data Protection Policy;
· Freedom of Information Policy;
· IS/IT Security Policy;
· Data Protection Manual;
· Code of Best Practice;
· Code of Conduct.
The above can be accessed via Global Drive under NIFRS Policies and Guidelines Folder and under Freedom of Information section at www.nifrs.org
16 RELEVANT LEGISLATION
· International Standard on Records Management (ISO 15489)
· Public Records Act 1923
· Disposal of Documents Order 1925
· Environmental Information Regulations 2004
· Northern Ireland Records Management Standards (NIRMS)
Public Record Office
· Data Protection Act 1998
· Freedom of Information Act 2000
· Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice
As new legislation is enacted, it will be added to this Policy.
17 FURTHER INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE
Further information and guidance about Records Management in NIFRS and this Policy can be obtained from:
Information Officer
NIFRS
1 Seymour Street
Lisburn
BT27 4SX
Records Management Policy Statement - March 2012 Page 8 of 8