Appendix 1 - Glossary of terms used in this document
Administrative Records - Records relating to those general tasks or activities performed within an organisation that are common to all businesses or organisations, such as maintenance of resources, care of the physical plant or other routine office matters. Also known as housekeeping records.
Audit Trail – The mechanism by which an organisation monitors use of a record. This could include recording when it is consulted, edited or disposed of.
Authority/Public Authority – For the purpose of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011, a body that appears in the schedule to the Act: Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011
This schedule can be amended under the terms of section 2.2 of the Act.
Business Activity – An umbrella term covering all the functions, processes, activities and transactions of an authority, and its employees. This includes public administration as well as commercial business.
Business Classification Scheme -
An intellectual structure that categorises business functions/activities or subjects to preserve the context of records relative to others. It is useful for aiding activities such as retrieval, storage and disposal scheduling of records.
Business Continuity – A system in place that ensures that the activities of an organisation can carry on in the event of major disruption.
Competency Framework – Formal document showing the skills required for a post, in this case posts relating to records management. Often this will be divided into ‘essential’ and ‘desirable’ skills. A competency framework may or may not include required formal qualifications.
Content (of a plan) – The various parts of a records management plan that, combined, make up a complete plan that might be agreeable to the Keeper. The Keeper’s Model Plan calls these parts ‘elements’.
Data Protection – Issues around the Data Protection Act 2018, the main purpose of which is the protection of private information about living people and to confirm that an individual has the right to know what information is held about them. N.B. The Data Protection Act does not give members of the public the right to access the actual records held by a public authority.
Destruction – The system of disposal of records by permanently destroying them and the recording that such action has been taken.
Disposal – The decision as to whether the record should be destroyed, transferred to an archive service for permanent preservation, or presented and the putting into effect of that decision.
Disposal Schedules – Schedules that identify types of records and specify how long they will be kept before they are destroyed, designated for permanent preservation or subject to further review.
Document – Information or data fixed in some medium, which may or may not be considered in whole or in part an official record.
Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) – An electronic system or process – managed with the aid of computers and software – implemented in order to manage both electronic documents and electronic records within an organisation. Electronic document and records management systems combine the functions of document and records management.
Element – In this document, the term used to signify a component part of a record management plan. There are 14 elements in the Keeper’s Model Plan and s/he would expect them all to be considered by an authority before submitting their Records Management Plan (RMP).
File Plan – Scheme showing the records created by an organisation. In larger public authorities each department is likely to have its own file plan. For the purposes of the Act the Keeper will not expect to see file plans submitted by authorities in support of their RMP.
Folder - A type of aggregation or container within a file system used to store records (and other folders). In an electronic environment, an assembly of one or more documents grouped together because they relate to the same subject, activity or transaction. The folder is the principal building block of a file plan.
Form (of a plan) – For the purposes of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 the term ‘form’ refers to the physical media in which an authority’s records management plan is submitted. It does not refer to textual content or to the internal structure of such a plan.
Freedom of Information – Issues around the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – known as FOI(S)A – this Act introduced a statutory right of access to all types of recorded information of any age held by Scottish public authorities, subject to certain conditions and exemptions. The Act is promoted and enforced by a fully independent Scottish Information Commissioner.
Guidance Document – This document. It is designed to assist public authorities who are in the process of creating a records management plan that will be robust enough to gain agreement of the Keeper. The Guidance Document points to many other pieces of guidance and to sample documents.
Information Security – The process by which information is protected from unauthorised use (including amendment and disposal). This includes issues regarding intellectual and physical access and the appropriateness of document storage.
Keeper of the Records of Scotland - The NRS is headed by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland, who is responsible to the Scottish Ministers for the management of the NRS and to the Lord President of the Court of Session for the efficient management of the court and other legal records in Scotland. The office of Keeper of the Records of Scotland was created in 1949, although its antecedents date back to the 13th century.
Metadata – Information about the context within which records were created, their structure and how they have been managed over time. Metadata can refer to records within digital systems, for example event log data. It can also refer to systems such as paper files that are controlled either from a digital system or by a register or card index, for example the title and location. In a robust records management system, metadata should ‘travel’ with the record to ensure provenance is retained.
Model Records Management Plan – Document produced by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland that shows the elements s/he considers should be addressed in the records management plans of all public authorities.
National Records of Scotland - From 1 April 2011, the General Register Office for Scotland merged with the National Archives of Scotland to become the National Records of Scotland (NRS): http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/
Permanent Preservation – The principle that some material created by an authority will be of enduring value and will be preserved beyond its business use.
Public Authority - For the purpose of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011, an organisation that appears in the schedule to the Act: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2011/12/schedule/enacted
This schedule can be amended under section 2.2 of the Act.
Public Records – For the purpose of this document, this refers only to records that are subject to the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011.
Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2011/12/contents/enacted
Record – Information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organisation or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business.
Records Management - The practice of formally managing records within a system (electronic and/or paper) including classifying, capturing, storing and disposal.
Records Management Plan – A formal statement by which an organisation explains the procedures it has in place to ensure the proper management of its records. A public authority, if it appears in the schedule to the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011, will be required to have its records management plan agreed by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.
Records Manager – The individual (or occasionally individuals) with responsibility for prosecuting an organisation’s records management plan. The person who other staff look to for records management advice and, in a public authority, the first point of contact for the National Records of Scotland regarding records management issues.
Retention Schedule – Document showing how the records of an organisation will be treated over time. For example how long after creation they should be destroyed.
Retrieval/Tracking – The mechanism by which an organisation notes record movement.
Self-Assessment – Review of systems carried out internally by an organisation for its own internal benefit. The Guidance Document points to published record management self-assessment tools that can be used for this purpose.
Senior Manager – For the purpose of the Act, the officer in an organisation who gives approval to its records management plan and by doing so sanctions its use throughout the relevant business areas. For many public authorities this may well be the Chief Executive.
Shared Information – A record created by an organisation and then passed to another for agreement, amendment or use OR a record created by two or more organisations jointly using a shared platform.
Vital Records – The fundamental records of an organisation required for it to operate. An appreciation of which these records are is considered a major part of business continuity.
Appendix 2 - Formal Records Management Standards
The following standards can be purchased from: http://shop.bsigroup.com/
ISO 15489-1:2001
Records Management: Part 1: General
ISO 15489-2:2001
Records Management Part 2: Guidelines
ISO 30300:2011
Management systems for records - Fundamentals and vocabulary
ISO 30301:2011
Management systems for records - Requirements
ISO 23081-1:2006
Records management processes - Metadata for records - Part 1: Principles
ISO 23081-2:2009
Managing metadata for records - Part 2: Conceptual and implementation issues
ISO 23081-3:2011
Managing metadata for records - Part 3: Self-assessment method
ISO 2700:2005
Information technology, security techniques, information security management systems - Requirements
ISO 16175-1:2010
Principles and functional requirements for records in electronic office environments - Part 1: Overview and statement of principles
ISO 16175-2:2011
Principles and functional requirements for records in electronic office environments - Part 2: Guidelines and functional requirements for digital records management systems
ISO 16175-3:2010
Principles and functional requirements for records in electronic office environments - Part 3: Guidelines and functional requirements for records in business systems
BS 10008:2008
Evidential weight & legal admissibility of electronic information. Specification.
BIP 0008-1:2008
Evidential weight & legal admissibility of information stored electronically – Code of practice for the implementation of BS 10008
BIP 0008-2:2008
Evidential weight & legal admissibility of information transferred electronically – Code of practice for the implementation of BS 10008
BIP 0008-3:2008
Evidential weight & legal admissibility of linking electronic identity to documents – Code of practice for the implementation of BS 10008
Electronic records management - MoReq2
MoReq2 is short for “Model Requirements for the Management of Electronic Records”, second version. It consists of a formal requirements specification for a generic electronic records management system, accompanied by testing documentation and related information. These might be used as a framework to guide development of new electronic records management systems:
https://irms.org.uk/page/moreq2
Appendix 3
Published Records Management Plans
