If the transfer of information between organisations is not managed effectively there are considerable risks that vital information could be lost and that organisations will fail to comply with information legislation, therefore it is important that organisations plan for machinery of government changes.
A wide range of information needs to be considered when planning for a machinery of government change:
- paper files – relevant paper records, including personnel and index file
- digital information, including documents held on shared drives, contacts, databases, CRM systems, emails, information stored in Electronic Document and Records Management Systems (EDRMS), Geographical Information Systems (GIS), case management systems and datasets
- relevant publications, guidance or training manuals and procedural information, whether in hard copy or digital format
- system and contract information
- knowledge held informally in personal folders or not written down
Private office
This section assumes that records are managed in accordance with Cabinet Office and The National Archives’ guidance on managing private office information and records.
Documents produced by Ministers in the course of their official ministerial responsibilities are public records and are subject to Crown copyright protection. It is important therefore that any such documents should not be retained by a Minister who is moving to the receiving organisation. Private Office staff will need to arrange for the immediate handover of records and information relating to the functions being transferred to another Minister or organisation.
Arrange a handover session to brief the new Private Secretary. Care should be taken to extract any personal material relating to the Minister (such as private diary engagements, or financial records, for example of mobile phone bills) before official material is transferred or destroyed.
The following steps should be taken:
Ministers’ diaries and notebooks
- official engagements relating to a transferred function should be extracted from Ministers’ diaries so that details can be passed to the Minister taking over responsibility for that function
Cabinet papers
- Cabinet documents relating to past meetings in the areas being transferred should be returned to the Cabinet Office
Official submissions and records
- copies of submissions relating to transferred functions can be destroyed
- copies of records of Ministers’ meetings and telephone conversations in which policy officials have been involved can also be destroyed
- records of meetings and telephone calls that did not involve policy officials should be filed on a diary file or attached to the diary entry and passed to the Departmental Records Officer in the transferring organisation
Personal material
- if the Minister is moving to the new Department, any purely personal material should be packed securely and sent to him/her or if unimportant it should be destroyed
- personal digital information should be deleted unless the Minister requires a copy
Copyright protection starts as soon as a work is created. The duration (length) of copyright depends on the type of work. It also depends on how long ago the work was created.
Once your copyright has expired, anyone can use or copy your work.
Duration of Crown copyright flowchart (PDF 214.12 KB)
Duration of non-Crown copyright flowchart (PDF 212.87KB)
In 2014, the Knowledge Council for the senior Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) staff in government was replaced by two groups: the KIM Leaders’ Network and the KIM Heads of Profession Group, which together guide the development of the KIM function and profession across government.
The KIM Leaders’ Network provides a forum for developing an integrated cross-governmental approach to knowledge and information management. It is chaired by The National Archives and is made up of a KIM leader from each main government department and representatives from other groups as agreed.
The objectives of the KIM Leaders’ Network include, to
- share learning and good practice in the management of knowledge and information across government
- discuss and agree shared priorities
- manage the information created in government so that it supports business objectives and legal obligations
- champion improvements to KIM across government, working closely with the KIM Heads of Profession Group
Meetings
Next meeting: TBC
31 October 2017: Items discussed included: a presentation and discussion on data retention in Rosa; a report back from the first KIM lunchtime seminar; the new KIM induction working group and information asset registers.
9 September 2017: Items discussed included: an update from David Smith, the KIM Head of Profession, on apprenticeship standards and accreditation; a presentation from the Better Information for Better Government programme setting out the long terms plans ; a discussion on recruitment issues; and an update on GDPR implementation and work streams.
26 June 2017: Items discussed included: an update from David Smith, the KIM Head of Profession on the Behavioural Change toolkit and Knowledge Hub; an update from the Cross Government Digital Records Management project work streams in data analytics and e-discovery, looking at the future of digital information management; an update on the Cross Government GDPR group, including roles, responsibilities and training, data mapping and Law Enforcement Directive.
15 May 2017: Items discussed included: an update from David Smith, the KIM Head of Profession on Data Protection training and the establishment of a Cross Government GDPR group with four sub-groups; John Sheridan presented The National Archives’ Digital Strategy; an update on the GDPR informal network; an update on Behavioural Change toolkit, to be launched 26 May; Task and Finish group established for Information Asset Registers with a GKIM site page (Knowledge Hub).
4 April 2017: Items discussed included: an update from David Smith, the KIM Head of Profession on the success of the KIM Conference on 30 March and the prospect of an Information Asset Registers Task and Finish group being created; an update from Ian Cross on developments at The National Archives, including a review of digital cataloguing practices and the publication of the Information Management Report due at the end of April; an update on the Cross Government Digital Records project; GDPR and KIM Leader’s cooperation, including The National Archives’ approach.
20 February 2017: Items discussed included: an update from David Smith, the KIM Head of Profession on the upcoming GKIM conference and Knowledge Sharing site for the profession; an update from the Cross Government Digital Records Management project work streams in information management culture and the need for improved behaviours and cultural change; overview of activity from The National Archives.
11 January 2017: Items discussed included: an update from David Smith, the KIM Head of Profession on the work of the profession; an update from the Cross Government Digital Records Management project for the publication of the Better Information for Better Government report; overview of activity from The National Archives.
14 November 2016: Items discussed included: an update from David Smith, the new KIM Head of Profession, who announced that the next GKIM conference will be held on 30 March; the Office 365 Information Management Working Group themes and membership; information management culture and the need for improved behaviours and cultural change; overview of the forward plan and activity from The National Archives.
4 October 2016: Items discussed included: the proposed governance arrangements for the KIM Head of Profession; overview of the forward plan and activity from The National Archives; current status of delivery and pilots for the Cross Government Records Management Project, including a Government Digital Service led stakeholder group on the Information Management elements of Office 365; recent machinery of government changes; and round table sharing of current issues and projects for information.
11 July 2016: Items discussed included: standardisation of email deletion policies; the Cross Government Digital Records Management project; an update on current priorities from The National Archives including new records transfer frameworks and Strategic Information Management meetings with departments. The knowledge management principles were approved. There was a discussion on the opportunity to review the Head of Profession role for KIM.
12 April 2016: Items discussed included: Cabinet Office Records Management Project; Knowledge Principles and the Government Transformation Strategy; an update from The National Archives including, Information Assurance and Cyber Security embedded as business as usual; the next Digital Transfer Questionnaire; Paper and Digital Frameworks and the new e-Learning platform.
18 January 2016: Items discussed included: KIM Governance and collaboration; Sir Alex Allan recommendations on cross government record keeping and next steps; an update from The National Archives including, the Information Management Assessment programme. KIM meetings with departments, compliance, software trials; support and collaboration available to departments.
8 October 2015: Items discussed included: recent Machinery of government changes; inquiries including IICSA; Sir Alex Allan’s review of digital records; an update on the Digital Transfer Project and pilots; and the Records Transfer Report survey.
20 July 2015 (rearranged from 9 July 2015): Items discussed included: the newly released Record Transfer Report; update on the pilots for the Digital Transfer Project; forthcoming response to the Sir Alex Allan Review.
21 April 2015: Preparations for the pre-election period and archiving of GOV.UK, arrangements for supporting the Goddard Inquiry and an update on the Information Assurance awareness and training for Boards, Senior Information Risk Owners (SIROs) and Information Asset Owners across the public sector, were discussed.
16 January 2015: The KIM representatives each reported on how they are taking forward the recommendations of Sir Alex Allan’s review of record keeping in government, and shared any new developments in information and records management in their departments.
3 October 2014: At the inaugural meeting the attendees discussed membership, the split of the functions across the two new groups, agreed the terms of reference and the formation of the Network.
Resources
January 2015: Government wide KIM update (presentation to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the two KIM groups).
Email us to find out more about the KIM Leaders’ Network.
For more information regarding KIM across government see both the Knowledge Principles and Information Principles.
Sir Alex Allan’s review
Sir Alex Allan is a senior civil servant who is currently the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards. In March 2014, the Cabinet Secretary asked him to carry out a review of how government departments were managing their process for releasing records.
The review covered the:
- annual release of papers
- ability and readiness of government departments to meet the requirements of moving from a 30- to a 20-year rule
- process for withholding information where release would harm individuals or the national interest
The review was commissioned by the Prime Minister and covers records from UK government departments but not from Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland governments or the intelligence agencies. Read Sir Alex Allan’s records review.
In response to the review The National Archives will support each of the recommendations in the ways outlined below.
Information Management Assessments
We will:
- continue to build on the Information Management Assessment Programme to provide a robust assessment of departments’ information management capability
- ensure all the major government departments undertake Information Management Assessments by March 2016
- reassess government departments every three to five years depending on level of risk
- publish all reports and action plans online
- support departmental Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) teams to implement the recommendations by providing advice, training and guidance
- review implementation of the Information Management Assessment action plans with departments at six and 12 months to monitor if recommendations are being implemented
- publish and update the forward programme of reviews online
- undertake unscheduled assessments where there are concerns about a department’s performance
- publish a good practice report highlighting case studies of good practice from the Information Management Assessments
- publish a summary of lessons learnt from the Information Management Assessments by December 2015 highlighting examples of best practice and common areas where improvements are needed
- update the Information Management Self-Assessment to allow departments and other public sector bodies to evaluate their information management performance
- promote the S46 Code of Practice as the guide to good information management
Accounting and reporting
We will:
- report annually to the meeting of Permanent Secretaries, by the Keeper of The National Archives, giving an overview of departmental performance
- encourage departments to conduct audits and to report on the accuracy of the figures returned when collecting data on legacy holdings for the record transfer report
- require departments to compile, update and publish ‘What to Keep’ schedules on their pages on GOV.UK and to demonstrate how those are being applied to their digital information systems
Supporting wider government initiatives
We will:
- support Cabinet Office in leading the review and release of records due to transfer, to allow themed releases
- continue to work with Crown Commercial Services in the role of intelligent customer function to advise on potential for outsourcing of records management
The digital challenge
We will:
- continue to provide advice, training and guidance on how to appraise and select digital records and keep them safe by applying the principles of digital continuity
- continue to develop our processes for the ingest of digital records and plan for the digital records future through our Digital Transfer Project, currently underway
- contribute to and support the review into the strategy for digital records as recommended by both the Dacre review (2007) and the report by Sir Alex Allan
Widening engagement
We will:
- support the Head of the KIM Profession in the development of skills for managing information and records in government departments
- work with heads of KIM to support a consistent approach to how they cover their Information management status in the annual reporting cycle
The Departmental Record Officer (DRO) leads on compliance with the Public Records Act and plays an important role in the management of information within government departments.
Why is this role needed?
- All information created in government is managed through the provisions of the Public Records Act and related legislation
- The DRO leads on departmental compliance with the Public Records Act
- The DRO maintains the department’s statutory relationship with The National Archives and the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives
What does this person do?
The DRO is responsible for information to be:
1. MANAGED from the point of creation until it is destroyed or transferred. The DRO needs to:
- know what information is being created and held
- understand the value of the information held, what it’s needed for, and the technology needed to support it
- determine how long information should be kept, agree a policy for retention with the business, and ensure that information is disposed of in line with policy
- ensure there are policies and processes to support compliance with information legislation
- keep it safe – implementing digital continuity principles into departmental record-keeping process, as well as identifying and escalating risks to the availability and completeness of information arising from changes in technology or the business.
2. SELECTED for permanent preservation. The DRO needs to:
- follow guidance from The National Archives on appraising records as part of good practice for information management under the Code of Practice (FOI s46)
- identify information worthy of historical preservation under supervision of the Keeper and in line with The National Archives’ Records Collection Policy
3. TRANSFERRED at the appropriate time. The DRO needs to:
- comply with the 20-year rule and the reporting requirements for it
- ensure the access status of information (under FoI) has been determined before transfer
- comply with standards as set by The National Archives for description and preparation
- oversee its transfer to The National Archives or a place of deposit, in line with legislative obligations
A successful DRO will:
- have clear lines of reporting to the Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO), and be integrated within wider systems of corporate governance
- champion a culture of good information management across the organisation, acting as a centre of excellence for advice and a hub for local information managers
- work with colleagues across information management, ICT, information assurance and risk management e.g. Head of KIM, CIO, Security
- build and maintain good working relationships with users in order to influence changes affecting the management or availability of departmental records
- manage the relationship with arm’s-length bodies and agencies
The role of the DRO was first established in 1954 as part of the principle conclusions from the Committee on Departmental Records chaired by Sir James Grigg. In his report Grigg recommended that within each organisation a DRO be appointed directly responsible for ‘the care of its papers from the time when they are created or first received by the department, until they are disposed of, either by destruction or by transfer’.