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Dec 6, 2022 · As a general rule of thumb, tax returns, financial statements and accounting records should be retained for a minimum of six years. This six-year period should start from the end of the last company financial year that the record relates to.
- Introduction
- Legal and Institutional Framework
- What records should private offices keep?
- Annex A - Records of Permanent Secretaries’ Offices
- Annex B - Code of Practice on the management of records issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
- Annex C - Note on Ministers’ private interests
1. It is an important part of our duty as civil servants to keep accurate records. Recorded information of a department’s official business, wherever held and whether created by ministers or officials, is a public record belonging to the Crown. Accurate record keeping is particularly important in private offices, where the most important decisions are made. For officials in private offices record keeping is core business.
2. This guidance is intended for civil servants in ministers’ private offices. It sets out how records should be managed and what records they should keep. How they should be kept will depend on how the minister works and how the private office operates. If the minister works on paper, the hard copy should be preserved. If the minister works digitally, the digital version is the record. Private offices should agree how to keep records with their Departmental Records Officer (DRO).
3. This guidance replaces earlier guidance issued in 2009. It does not apply retrospectively. It applies to information in any medium created by, held in, or passing through private offices which relates to the business activities of the department. It does not cover records that may be maintained elsewhere in the department. It does not apply to records of ministers’ constituency, party-political activities or personal interests, which should be kept separate from official records. See Annex C for guidance on record-keeping relating to ministers’ interests.
4. This guidance is intended to be read alongside other policies on record-keeping. In particular ministers and officials should use government systems for government business. Refer to the guidance on non-corporate communications channels or consult the DRO if using non-corporate communications channels for government business.
5. Private offices must keep accurate records because ministers are accountable to Parliament and to the public. The Civil Service Code issued under s.5 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 requires civil servants to keep accurate official records.
6. The Public Records Act 1958 requires government departments to preserve records of historical value and transfer them to The National Archives after no longer than 20 years (s.3(1)). Private office records are more likely to have historical value, so private offices have an important role in complying with this statutory duty. Departments must follow the guidance and supervision of the Keeper of Public Records (s.3(2)).
7. The Code of Practice on the management of records issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, provides a framework for authorities to manage information and maintain a record of their activities. The Code also sets out disposal options.
8. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows anyone the right to ask for information. Being clear about what records to keep means private offices can deal with requests accurately and in a timely manner.
9. Some types of information must be kept by law for a set period, for example financial information must be kept for seven years.
10. Private offices are bound by the government’s commitment to keep records of meetings with outside interest groups. Private offices should refer to the Transparency Team in the Cabinet Office if they require guidance.
13. Officials should exercise judgement but should aim for an intelligible record of their ministers’ time in office. DROs should advise on how the obligations detailed above apply, on departmental selection policies and on technical aspects of managing records including how long to keep records.
The following should not be kept once information in the categories above has been placed in the official record and they are no longer needed for business purposes.
•Routine administrative meetings of the private office team
•Meetings or conversations, in any medium, that are not substantive discussions of departmental or government policy or operations
•Initial notes of meetings or discussions after an official record of the meeting or discussion has been created
•Notes of meetings, conversations or communications in any medium, of a party-political nature
The requirements for Permanent Secretaries’ private office records are similar but more limited.
The Code of Practice says that public authorities should “know what information they hold, why they hold it, how sensitive it is, and how it should be managed. They should keep information for as long as they need it and dispose of it when they no longer have a reason to keep it. Authorities can dispose of information by destroying it, … or by transferring it to an archive.” (1.2.3). The Code also sets out that “Authorities subject to the PRA have a statutory duty to select records of historic value for permanent preservation in TNA or a Place of Deposit.” (3.1.1.)
The Code of Practice sets out three principles that explain why it is important that accurate records are kept. They are:
Value. Well-managed information supports ministerial decision making. Additionally, many private office records will be of historical value and should be kept for permanent transfer to The National Archives as part of preserving the legacy of a minister’s time in office.
Integrity. Private offices should ensure that the record of the activities of their minister can be relied upon and trusted. It is not unusual for the decisions of ministers to be challenged in court or made subject to inquiries.
Private offices provide the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics Directorate with information about ministers’ private interests. These are confidential and should not be retained as part of the historic record. The Cabinet Office destroys its copy one year after the end of the government in which the minister served. Private offices should handle this information in strict confidence and dispose of it when the minister leaves office.
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If the individual submitted the SAR by other means (eg by letter or verbally), you can provide a copy in any commonly used format (electronic or otherwise), unless the requester makes a reasonable request for you to provide it in another commonly used format.
Apr 5, 2022 · Archiving hard copy documents involves purging unnecessary files, creating a retention schedule, identifying appropriate storage space, and ensuring fast and easy retrieval. Digital document archiving may be a better solution if you want to save space, lower costs, and enable fast keyword searching.
Introduction. Section 1: Scope of the Code. 1.1 Overview. 1.2 What is a record? 1.3 Scope of records covered by the Code. 1.4 Type of records covered by the Code. Section 2: Records Management Obligations. 2.1 Overview. 2.2 Legal Obligations. 2.3 Professional obligations. 2.4 Management Responsibilities. 2.5 Organisational Policy.
A request for a copy of a document is a valid request for all the ‘recorded information’ in that document. ‘Recorded information’ can be defined as any feature or characteristic of a document that imparts information or knowledge to the viewer.
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How can a cloud-based document management system help with hard-copy records management?
Prioritize secure physical document storage and digital conversion. Create a classified filing system to locate records when needed quickly. Develop a Retention Schedule. If your paper files aren’t managed regularly, they’ll continue to pile up and put your company more at risk.
