What records should be transferred?

There are a number of options for transferring the relevant records to the receiving organisation.

Transfer all information less than 20 years old

In order for organisations to fulfil their statutory responsibilities under the Public Records Act, they need to transfer all records worthy of permanent preservation to The National Archives no later than 20 years after the record was created.

If the transferring organisation has records that are older than 20 years, with the agreement of the receiving organisation, it could retain these records and carry out the process of appraisal and selection and transfer these to The National Archives following the usual process.

Transferring only the information less than 20 years old would ensure that the receiving organisation does not inherit a review backlog. It may also slightly reduce costs as fewer records will need to be handed over to the receiving organisation.

Conduct an early review and transfer only records of value to the receiving organisation

The transferring and receiving organisations could jointly carry out an early review of the paper records, taking into account business and long-term historical value, and statutory retention requirements. Existing retention/disposal schedules should also be referred to during this process.

This option may not be appropriate, however, if large numbers of files are to be transferred or there is only a short time to complete the transfer. It is the most resource-intensive option as staff time will be needed to carry out the review, added to the cost of disposal. However, if the volume of records to be transferred can be reduced, transfer, indexing and storage costs may be significantly lower over time.

Transfer all records regardless or age of value

If a machinery of government change has to happen very quickly then the decision may be made to transfer all paper records to the receiving department regardless of age or value. This is the simplest and quickest option but depending on the amount of material to be transferred, it could have substantial cost implications for both the transferring and receiving organisations. Also, if any of the records for transfer are over 20 years old, the receiving organisation may not wish to inherit records that could potentially put it in breach of the Public Records Act.

Find guidance on appraising and selecting records for permanent preservation.

Finding aids, reference material and metadata

The transferring department must ensure that all finding aids, reference material and metadata around the paper records are transferred along with the records. These include, but aren’t limited to:

• card indexes, docket books and other finding aids
• retention/disposal information relating to records of the function
• zero files
• appraisal information, for example, selection criteria, information on past reviews
• paper files relating to databases
• printed guidance or manuals relevant to the function or relating to databases

The team responsible for digital records will need to identify the relevant records and information at the outset, including those stored on:

• electronic documents and records management systems (EDRMS)
• business systems (such as HR systems, case management systems)
• websites and intranets
• collaboration systems
• shared drives
• personal drives and hard drives
• email systems
• CDs or other removable storage devices
• social media sites maintained by the business unit
• externally hosted information (with particular consideration for access, such as passwords and contracts with third party providers)
• structured data (datasets, GSI systems)

Select records and information for transfer based on their business need, current and future business value, as well as potential historical value. Ensure close consultation with business units when making decisions about which records and information are transferred. Use What to Keep schedules, Appraisal Reports and Operational Selection Policies to help select the relevant records.

Migrating information from one form of data structure and technology application to another can increase the risk that you will lose:

• content and context of information
• ability to access information

For more information about mitigating these risks please read our digital continuity guidance.

Plan and manage migration carefully to ensure:

• the receiving organisation understand how information is used
• the completeness, availability and usability of information is maintained throughout the migration process
• risks involved in migrating information are recognised and mitigated
• no digital information is destroyed until it is loaded successfully into the new operating environment and has been quality checked

Options for transferring digital information:

Transferring the whole system to the receiving organisation

If the whole system contains information relating to the business function being transferred then it may be appropriate to transfer the whole system to the receiving organisation.

In this case, the licence and ownership of the business system will need to be transferred and there will need to be discussions with the system developer as well as the IT teams in both the transferring and receiving organisations.

Leaving the information where it is

The transferring organisation may be able to continue holding the information as a service to the receiving organisation. Although no physical migration would occur, ownership of and responsibility for the information would transfer to the receiving organisation. The precise rights and responsibilities of each organisation would need to be established in an agreement or memorandum of understanding. Any agreement would need to consider intellectual property rights, Crown copyright and database rights, use and re-use of information as well as FOI and DPA legislation.

 Transferring the information to The National Archives

Consider transferring information to The National Archives if the information is no longer in active business use and has been selected as being worthy of permanent preservation. Contact your Information Management Consultant to discuss the potential of transferring this information to The National Archives.

Disposing of the information

If the information is no longer required for ongoing business use by the receiving organisation and the information is not worthy of permanent preservation, disposing of it is a preferable alternative to transferring the information. This should be done in line with our  disposal guidance and in consultation with your Information Management Consultant.

Migrating systems

Before systems are migrated:

• know what version of what system is in use in both the receiving and transferring organisations
• know the information architecture used in both systems and in both organisations
• know the file formats used in the system (if migrating data from shared drives, use DROID to identify the file formats and duplicates)
• know the volumes of information to be transferred and received so that resources can be allocated accordingly taking into account government data handling and data security
• ensure that software and hardware licenses are transferred along with the records
• provide an administrative history or brief regarding the evolution of the function to accompany the transfer

While preparing to migrate systems:

• ensure a backup of the information and records to be transferred has been created before the migration process takes place
• transferring organisations should not transfer redundant or duplicated information to the receiving organisation. Any redundant or duplicated information should be destroyed, in line with guidance on keeping and disposing of records, Operational selection policies or other guiding retention and disposal documents
• ensure that the format used for migrating the data is known and make sure that the receiving organisation is able to receive and support this format
• both organisations should agree what the minimum mandatory metadata requirements are and map these metadata fields against each other before migration
• know the minimum metadata elements that the transferring organisation can export and the receiving organisation can receive

Transferring digital information securely

• export the data securely, for example via a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) or an encrypted High Density Drive (HDD). Both organisations will need to determine the appropriate transfer mechanisms. If using encrypted HDDs, the transferring organisation will need to send these via secure courier and provide a decryption password separate from the HDD. Never transmit the HDD and password together. If using SFTP, the transferring and receiving organisations will need to agree a transmission time for the secure transmission of information
• If an HDD is used, the transferred information will need to be held in a non-networked computer until the appropriate virus scans have been provided and quality checks on metadata carried out
• If SFTP is used, it will need to be transferred to a computer that is not attached to the wider IT network to safeguard against viruses.

Please note that iron keys, USB keys or thumb drives are not secure methods for transferring digital information between government organisations.

Acknowledgement of receipt of records:

• ensure that the completeness, availability and usability of the information (and its metadata) throughout the migration process
• no records can be destroyed by the transferring organisation until confirmation of receipt and accessibility has been confirmed by the receiving organisation

Email

Emails form an important part of the records relating to government functions. They should be managed in line with our guidance on managing email.

You may be required to transfer emails during a machinery of government change. For more information, please contact your Information Management Consultant.

 Datasets

Datasets related to a function will need to be identified and listed. Datasets can be found in:

• databases
• intranets
• websites

Consulting closely with the business unit, decisions will need to be made about which of the datasets should be transferred. Datasets should be selected for transfer based on whether they are still required for ongoing business purposes and/or they have been identified as records worthy of permanent preservation.

Published datasets

If the dataset being transferred is published (for example, on a website) it can be downloaded from the website in machine readable format and then be transferred to the receiving organisation.

If the dataset is published on the website please see our advice on websites.

Unpublished datasets

If the dataset is unpublished the organisation can transfer the entire database provided the receiving organisation is capable of loading and running the database. Alternately the dataset can be migrated from the database and transferred to the receiving organisation, as a flat file.

The transferring organisation needs to provide guidance on the FOI and DPA requirements related to the dataset or database.

Transferring organisations should:

• ensure that website content sits within the context of the receiving organisation from the moment responsibility is handed over
• ensure they are aware of where all their web content is published online including all non GOV.UK presence such as campaign websites and social media (for example Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Medium)
• understand where and when any online content may need to be altered substantially or closed and take the appropriate steps to ensure that information is not lost as a result

Where an organisation’s web content is solely published on GOV.UK, any changes required e.g. to departmental name or status, role holders or policy area ownership can be handled with the help of the Government Digital Service (GDS) through their established processes.

Websites outside of GOV.UK

For websites and social media accounts outside of GOV.UK, organisations should apply best practice to redirecting customers from the old domain, with an explanation of what has happened. They should keep this in place for a set period of time that is made clear to the user. Communications and marketing should support this to ensure that machinery of government changes do not affect customer services or the customer journey.

Web archiving

The National Archives captures snapshots of all UK central government websites regularly. Most websites are captured in full at least once every six months. This should be sufficient to capture significant documents and information in most cases.

However, The National Archives can help by archiving a final copy of the website before any machinery of government changes are made. Contact the Web Archiving team at The National Archives at least eight weeks before the planned change in order to agree the most suitable approach.

The web teams in both transferring and receiving organisations should check that their websites and social media channels are included in the UK Government Web Archive. You can do this by accessing the A-Z list or through the Web Archiving team

Please be aware that not all content on the live website is capable of being harvested into the Web Archive. In particular content which requires user participation such as a login, or any selection filtering by the user before downloading, cannot be captured. The National Archives carries out an extensive quality assurance process to ensure that the harvest is as complete as possible. However if departments are relying on any particular content to be archived, they should check – before removing the content from the live site – that the content has been preserved in the web archive. Tips on finding content in the web archive are provided on The National Archives’  website, including a bookmarklet that you can add to your browser to check the web archive for a known URL quickly.

Full guidance for web teams is provided on our web pages. It includes guidance for managers of websites which are closing and guidance on how to make your website web archive compliant.

Transferring information is a complex and demanding project, so it is vital that there is a clear plan and it is managed well. Your transition plan should include the following steps.

Planning

Start planning for the transfer of information as soon as there is a decision about any machinery of government changes.

You will need to:

• define outcomes and success measures
• assess and manage risks: to the security, completeness, availability and usability of information
• comply with legislation
• identify the required and available resources and capabilities
• ensure that the senior management of the transferring organisation, their parent department (if applicable) and the receiving organisation understand what is required, understand their legal obligations and responsibilities, and allocate appropriate resources
• refer to published guidance and best practice and contact other organisations that have undertaken similar work
• ensure the long term survival or availability of the information for future public use
• consider whether any legal instrument transferring public functions is the right way to handle information management issues. Primary or secondary legislation may already provide for the transfer of other types of property for example intellectual property

Define roles and responsibilities

The team responsible for the transfer of information should include officers from transferring and receiving organisations as well as relevant suppliers and should ensure they:

• identify and draw on relevant expertise within both the transferring and receiving organisations
• define who will do the tasks identified during the planning stage
• define joint and individual roles and responsibilities
• define ownership of the information at each stage of the process

Decide what to transfer

You will need to decide what information should be transferred (or loaned) and to where. Transfer all information of continuing business use to whoever is taking over that function, whether an agency, the parent department or another organisation. Transfer information of archival value to The National Archives and dispose of any information (using the appropriate disposal and retention guidance) that has no continuing business use and which is of no historical value.

Ensure you consider information in all formats and media such as:

• paper files, digital records
• emails, websites, intranets
• copies (publications, backups and so on)
• shared drives, databases
• tape or CD collections, photographs, film

It is important to capture the knowledge of staff from the original organisation, particularly if they are not transferring with the function. Ensure that arrangements for the management of websites and their content including datasets are made and that issues relating to copyright have been addressed.

Define requirements

The receiving organisation will need to continue to be able to find, open, work with and understand the information. This depends on the files themselves, their contextual and management metadata, and the technology that supports their use.

You will need to:

• define usability requirements for information to be transferred
• identify dependencies on supporting information or technology:
  • metadata, indexes, documentation
  • asset registers, audit records, retention schedules
  • protective markings and access controls
  • supporting technology and licences
• test against usability requirements throughout the transfer process

Comply with legislation

You will need to:

• identify all relevant legislation, such as the Data Protection Act (DPA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and Public Records Act
• identify all relevant sensitivities within records being transferred for example under FOIA and DPA
• clarify responsibility for requests, complaints and appeals (FOIA and EIR) and prepare handover or guidance notes
• maintain compliance with data handling guidance and the Security Policy Framework throughout the process
• secure information assets for the public good by being aware of what information is subject to Crown copyright, and that such information is not passed beyond Crown control unless safeguards or assignments are in place

Deliver savings and efficiencies

Consider shared service options for data storage or information systems in order to capitalise on opportunities to increase efficiency and make savings.

Ensure that disposal policies are followed so that resources are not spent transferring information that is no longer required for business use or historical preservation.

Download our checklist for transferring organisations

Download our checklist for receiving organisations

Download our template transfer agreement

Both the transferring and receiving organisations will need a project management team who should manage the change and oversee the transfer of people and functions.

These two project teams should form a joint team to manage the handover of information and records. This team should work closely with the overall project management team and should  include:

• the Departmental Record Officers and other records, information management and knowledge management staff
• internal and external IT personnel
• information security teams

Both organisations should make adequate budgetary provision for this work.

The team managing the handover of information and records should identify and arrange for the transfer of relevant paper and digital records. It should also ensure the transition of informal knowledge. It must also ensure that processes and decisions around information management are carefully and consistently documented. This team should also seek expert advice (from organisation or department lawyers and the Information Policy team at The National Archives) on issues of the legal status of information being loaned or transferred beyond a Crown body.

Existing knowledge management tools such as staff directories and intranets should be used to ease the transition between the two organisations.

Both organisations affected by the machinery of government change should:

• manage and jointly own the change
• approach the change in a spirit of openness and co-operation
• document the process to ensure accountability and transparency
• comply fully with legislative requirements for example the Public Records Act (PRA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Data Protection Act (DPA)
• consider the Crown copyright and database rights with regard to information being transferred and the type of receiving organisation
• focus on effective communication with the end-users or customers
• take opportunities to save money, be more efficient and more effective in the management of records
• make adequate resources available to ensure business continuity

 If information is not managed through the process of reorganisation:

• vital operational records could be lost or corrupted and the receiving organisation may be unable to locate or access the information they need in order to carry out their business effectively
• the transferring organisation will be at risk of failing to comply with information legislation, such as the Freedom of Information Act, Data Protection Act, Public Record Act and guidelines on data handling
• time and resources may be wasted transferring or storing information that is no longer required
• the receiving organisation may not have the rights to use and re-use the transferred information
• the receiving organisation may be unable to account for their decisions, past actions or provide evidence to an inquiry or to demonstrate the authenticity of their information
• vital administrative records may be lost or corrupted such as pension records which may be required many years later

Good management and transfer of information and records can help:

• improve efficiency and save money by ensuring that only relevant information is transferred
• organisations to comply with legislation
• safeguard the public record, ensuring it remains available for future use and re-use
• support ongoing policy making and public service delivery

Organisation records created prior to a change of status will remain public records after a change of status. Similarly, Crown copyright and database rights are determined by the circumstances of the creation of the information.  This is because Crown copyright applies to works created by officers of servants of the Crown and it will continue to apply after an organisation has changed status.

A change of status may be in the form of:

• selling of the shares (privatisation) of an organisation
• ownership is taken on by employees, customers or other stakeholders (mutualisation)
• an organisation is converted into a government owned company
• dissolution

Public records must be safeguarded according to obligations laid down by the Public Records Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and any other relevant legislation or codes of practice. Make sure that your successor body is aware of these requirements. Get specialist advice on the management of records held by approved places of deposit from The National Archives as soon as you are aware of proposals for any type of change of status.

You must discuss ownership and access rights with your parent department and consult your parent department’s legal and legislative teams as soon as possible to finalise ownership, copyright and intellectual property requirements.

For more information, please see our guidance on:
What to do with your records if your public body is undergoing a status change (PDF, 0.16Mb)

Copyright and intellectual property

Discuss copyright ownership of records with your parent department’s legal and legislative teams as soon as you can, and finalise ownership arrangements before any change of status.

The National Archives is responsible for the licensing of Crown copyright and database right. The Copyright Team can advise and assist when copyright ownership of records and databases might need to be assigned (i.e. transferred) to or away from the Crown.

Copyright created by non-Crown bodies can be assigned from the legal owner to the Crown. In exceptional cases, Crown copyright may be assigned away from the Crown, but as assignments of Crown copyright run contrary to government and open data policy, they are rarely granted. If there is a valid case for assignment, a formal submission will be prepared for review and approval by the Keeper of Public Records.

You should address copyright ownership arrangements with your parent body and The National Archives prior to the change in status taking affect.

Please see the guidance on copyright assignments or email the Copyright team for further advice.

Access to records

If the successor body want access to records of permanent value that are being transferred to the parent department, they have to requisition them. Ideally the access and loan rights should be agreed with the parent department prior to the change of status.

In most cases the successor body should be given a copy of the record. If this is not possible due to size or cost limitations a formal loan agreement for the original records should be agreed. The agreement should outline any applicable access restrictions and should stipulate that requisitioned originals are not damaged in any way, that nothing is added or removed, and that the records are returned as soon as they are finished with, and not later than one year after requisition.

Records with ongoing business value may be required by your parent department or by the successor organisation (or both).

Both parent department and successor organisation require records of ongoing business value

In this case, transfer the records to your parent department. Make arrangements for transfer of technology, licences and documentation if needed. The successor organisation will need to agree access and loan rights with your parent department, and in some cases they may be given a copy of the record. This is something you should discuss on a case-by-case basis with your parent department, the successor body and The National Archives.

If you do not yet know who your successor organisation is, you should ensure your parent department knows that they will need to agree access or loan rights with the successor organisation once they come into existence.

Only the successor organisation requires the records

You should agree this with your parent department and The National Archives, and transfer records via statutory instrument (or similar, for example a Memorandum of Understanding).

Before any change of status, you must agree the status of your records with your parent department, and ensure your successor body is aware of this. This means agreeing and documenting what records remain public records after transfer. Note that any records owned by your parent department are automatically public records.

Successor organisation requires access to open public records held at The National Archives

Copies can be requisitioned from The National Archives or other places of deposit. If copies are not available due to size or cost limitations, the relevant bodies must sign a formal loan agreement. If the successor organisation wants access to closed public records, they must discuss this with the parent department.

Sensitivity review

You must review the sensitivity of records of historical value before any change of status. This means you must identify information that may be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations. You must note categories of records with particular storage and handling requirements, for example, sensitive personal data or protectively marked material. Please read our guidance on sensitivity reviewing records.