1. Searching for Information
City of Edinburgh Council
Kevin Wilbraham, Information Governance Manager
Henry Sullivan, Records Manager
Jill Walker, FOI Manager

2. 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

3. 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)

4. CEC structure

5. 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

6. Records Management & Freedom of Information
Henry Sullivan

7. What is good Records Management?
From here…
… to here

8. 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

9. 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 & 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

10. 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)

11. Records Management Standards
Section 61 Code of Practice
ISO 15489: 2001 Information & Documentation – Records Management
ISO 30301: 2011 Information & Documentation – Management System for Records

12. 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

13. 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

14. Records Management Plan
Senior management responsibility
Records manager responsibility
Records management policy statement
Business classification
Retention schedules
Destruction arrangements
Archiving & transfer arrangements
Information security
Data protection
Business continuity & vital records
Audit trail
Competency framework for records management staff
Assessment & review
Shared information

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. Questions

20. Activity Split into four groups of five
Each group will be asked to identify:
3 risks that bad records management practices around pose to handling information requests
3 ways your organisation could improve how it manages 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

21. Freedom of information & searching
Jill Walker

22. 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.”

23. 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

24. 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.”

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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.