SITS:Vision Annual the Hilton Deansgate Hotel, Manchester Gary Williams – Business Development Director Electronic Evidence July 2011

Electronic Evidence: Key issues to be aware of

SFA Guidance Note 7 (April 2011): Providers must retain a robust and reliable form of evidence to support funding claims including evidence of learner existence, eligibility, and achievement. From 1 August 2011, providers will be able to hold evidence in electronic format. This may include holding data on electronic platforms and in scanned format, including learner signatures. (Paragraph 80) Supplemented with SFA Briefing Note on Electronic Records dated 9th June 2011 What’s new?

An option from 1st August 2011 Covers ‘holding of evidence to support funding claims’ ‘a provider is expected to have in place demonstrable procedures and policies to enable it to confirm learner existence and eligibility, including physical confirmation of existence and evidence in support of eligibility as necessary’. What’s new?

Must still comply with 2011/12 Learner Eligibility and Contribution Rules: The what and how of compliance will need to be stored as well as being satisfied that the processes used provide adequate assurance Need to comply with data protection legislation Key Elements(2)

Not a requirement Not ‘all’ or ‘nothing’ Three options and all are perfectly acceptable to SFA:  Some  None  all Key Features

Funding requirements for 2011/12 It is the provider’s responsibility:  to meet the minimum requirements for evidence;  and that these are sufficient for audit purposes. Stipulate that the Agency will not be prescriptive on how providers meet the minimum requirements. Briefing note confirms that these broad principles are also applicable to the use of electronic records.

Funding requirements for 2011/12 It is the responsibility of the provider to establish adequate procedures that will ensure the completeness, accuracy and security of data for electronic records. Providers must be able to demonstrate that the procedures are operating satisfactorily, if required to do so by the Agency

What are the potential benefits?  Archiving  Document and records management  Complete on-line enrolment  More customer friendly  Cost reduction  Streamlined business processes

What are the potential pitfalls? Lack of robust evidence to support existence, eligibility, learning and achievement ■An electronic signature is not enough! ■‘Digital’ signatures to authenticate the learner ■Need to comply with DS Regulations Reliance on existing systems and procedures Needs investment of time and money to secure downstream efficiencies

An example

Summary Available from 1 st August 2011 Archiving and records storage and management are easy end of the spectrum Learning & Achievement is relatively straight forward and exists for most learner options now

Overview Developments needed around learner existence and eligibility Need to comply with guidance (Funding and Eligibility) irrespective of manual or electronic data capture, storage and management

Questions and discussion