Sir Alex Allan is a senior civil servant who is currently the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards. In 2014 Sir Alex Allan reported on how government departments were managing their process for releasing records. The Cabinet Secretary also commissioned him to conduct a review into the government’s strategy for managing digital records and archives.
The review aimed to identify how to ensure the long term integrity of government records and to review:
- policies for capturing and managing digital information
- policies for selecting, retaining and disposing of digital records and how sensitivity checks are handled
- whether these policies are complied with
- whether government has the right tools, including technology, and resources
- whether government has the right skills and capacity
It covered records from UK government departments but not from the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland governments or the intelligence agencies.
Read Sir Alex Allan’s Review of government digital records