News: Scottish Public Records Review

The Keeper of the Records of Scotland is to conduct a review of Scottish public records legislation. This follows recommendations made by the Historical Abuse Systemic Review (the Shaw Report), which carried out a two year investigation into the background of abuse suffered by children in residential schools and children’s homes in Scotland between 1950 and 1995.

Background
Published in November 2007, the Shaw Report recommended that “the government should commission a review of public records legislation which should lead to new legislation being drafted to meet records and information needs in Scotland. This should also make certain that no legislation impedes people's lawful access to records. This review's objectives should address the need for permanent preservation of significant records held by private, non-statutory agencies that provide publicly funded services to children.” (cited from: An independent review led by Tom Shaw, Chapter 7: Conclusions and Recommendations, available on the Scottish Government website).

The Keeper will therefore carry out a review, in consultation with public authorities, record keeping experts and the public, and will report to Scottish Ministers within approximately 9 months. The principal focus of the review is to identify possible failures of record keeping highlighted by the Shaw Report, but the Keeper believes this should be done within the context of a broad overview of public records legislation in Scotland.

Timetable
Spring 2008 - The Keeper will set up a review team within the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) that will be led by a Deputy Keeper. It will be drawn from a number of areas from within the NAS.

Spring/Summer 2008 – the review team will write to a range of public authorities, including local authorities, health boards, universities, other organisations and individuals, asking them to submit evidence related to the review. A questionnaire will be posted on the NAS website inviting comment from other users of public records.

Autumn 2008 – the review team will consider their findings and report to the Keeper.

Winter 2008 – the Keeper will report to ministers on the results of his review.