Background
Why we need a defined policy on selection
In our daily lives we all rely on accurate records as evidence, to
prove when we were born and document any medical treatment we have
received or property we own. Government archives are similarly important
as they record the origins of individual rights and obligations and
provide accountability and transparency to the citizen.
The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) has been selecting government
records for preservation for many years. With the impending implementation
of Freedom of Information and a desire to be more open and accountable,
the NAS has produced this policy statement on selection of government
records.
The increase in quantities of government records produced from the
1970s onwards requires the NAS to introduce a stringent selection
policy. The stringency of this policy and its rigorous application
will ensure the selection of a representative government archive but
will also mean that we can operate within reasonable resource limits
for storage and preservation.
Current situation
To date the NAS has never published the criteria used to select government
records for preservation. Guidance for the selection of records from
the Scottish Government/Scottish Office has been documented and used
by the NAS staff, but selection of records from other government agencies
and Non-Departmental Public Bodies has been handled on an individual
basis.
The criteria set out below represent the policy of the NAS on the
selection of government records.
The numbers 1-5 in brackets are footnotes.
1. Scope
1.1 The selection criteria will apply to records in all media.
1.2 The criteria will cover records (1) created by bodies listed in
Parts 1-2, 4 and 7 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information (Scotland)
Act 2002, with the exception of, in Part 2 - the non-administrative
records of the Registrar General for Scotland, and in Part 4 - Health
Boards, local health councils, NHS trusts and individuals as described
in s33, 34 and 35.(2)
1.3 The criteria will also apply to records from UK departments which
relate exclusively or mainly to Scotland and which are selected by
the NAS with the agreement of The National Archives (TNA) (3) under
the terms of the Public Records Act, 1958, section 3(8) and the Public
Records (Scotland) Act, 1937, section 5(1). These acts can be found
on the website of the Office of Public Sector Information. Operation
of the criteria with regard to records from UK departments will require
close co-operation between NAS and TNA.
1.4 The criteria do not cover the NAS policy on the disposition of
records to local archives under charge and superintendence agreements.
1.5 Although the scope of the criteria for selection of government
records is in line with the lists of departments, agencies and NDPBs
set out in Parts 1-2, 4 and 7 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002, this does not constitute a commitment on the
part of NAS to accept records from each and every body listed. Similarly,
NAS may extend the scope of these criteria to cover any bodies added
to Schedule 1 where the body concerned also falls within the scope
of the Public Records (Scotland) Act, 1937.
2. Duplicate material
2.1 Past policy
There have been occasions where the NAS has accepted duplicate material.
These duplicates have either been sets of records also held in other
archives eg Cabinet Office papers or copies selected from a body other
than the originating one. The reasons for acceptance of such material
have been to ease public access and to fill gaps in records of an
organisation where records management arrangements have been deficient
to the extent that the NAS had no hope of preserving the 'original'
set.
2.2 Future policy
The NAS should only consider the acceptance of duplicates if the material
being offered is the primary set of records and duplicates are to
be preserved by other archives or where the set being offered to the
NAS has equal value to those being offered to other archives, an example
of this being the records of the Nolan Committee on Standards in Public
Life. In exceptional circumstances the NAS will consider the acceptance
of secondary copies eg if the primary copy was destroyed in a fire.
Where ease of access is the issue, the NAS should promote alternatives
to accepting duplicate sets of material wherever possible (eg digitisation
of the primary set).
3. Collection themes
3.1 Below are indications of priorities. This is not a prescriptive
list.
In broad terms the collection themes are:
- The Scottish Parliament's deliberations, processes, functions
and structures
- The constitutional position of Scotland, including the establishment
of devolved government and the representation of Scottish interests
in the making of UK policy
- The formulation and implementation of policy on:
o civil and criminal law, and the administration of justice
o social issues (education, health and social policy)
o the Scottish economy (industry, business, transport, agriculture
and fisheries)
o the environment
o cultural policy
- The interaction of these policies with individuals, communities
and the physical environment.
3.2 The overall aim of these criteria is to produce an accurate
reflection of the government of Scotland, how it functions and the
impact its actions have on the citizen and the environment.
3.3 The NAS may refuse to accept for preservation records which
have poor explanatory documentation. This applies especially, but
not exclusively, to records in electronic form. Guidance on minimum
documentation standards will be developed.
4. Methodology to be applied
4.1 The main collection themes will be supported by documents giving
more detailed guidance on records to be selected from particular
organisations.
4.2 The NAS will adopt some elements of functional or macro appraisal.(4)
As the initial stage of the appraisal of an organisation's records
the NAS will use an analysis of the functions of the organisation
and its constituent parts to identify the functions which have the
most significant impact on individuals and groups. The NAS will
however retain an element of content-based appraisal of records
as experience has shown that until records management practices
in all central government bodies can be shown to comply with the
Code of Practice on Records Management issued under section 61 of
the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 it is not possible
to rely on file plans or functional models of an organisation alone
as the basis for appraisal decisions.
4.3 Sampling techniques will be used when a record series meets
one or more of the criteria set out above but is too bulky to be
preserved in its entirety (eg some series of case files). Any sampling
techniques used will follow the same rules as are applied by TNA
and PRONI.(5)
5. Review of selection policy
This policy will be reviewed 2 years after its first coming into
operation. Thereafter it will be reviewed every 5 years.
Footnotes
1. As defined in the BS-ISO standard 15489 on records management records
are 'information created, received, and maintained as evidence and
information by an organisation or person in pursuance of legal obligations
or in the transactions of business'.
2. The text of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 which
includes this schedule can be found on the website of the Office
of Public Sector Information.
3. Bringing together the Public Record Office and Historical Manuscripts
Commission.
4. Macro appraisal requires archivists to research and analyse
functional profiles and administrative structures of government
as well as its policies and business programs to identify the nature
of the impact these have on individuals and groups. This analysis
forms the basis for all appraisal decisions and no actual records
are inspected during the selection process.
5. Details of guidance already published on such sampling techniques
can be found on the TNA website.
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