Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011: Consultation on the revised Model Records Management Plan

Overview

The Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 requires named Scottish public authorities to produce and submit a records management plan (“RMP”), setting out proper arrangements for the management of an authority’s public records, to the Keeper of the Records of Scotland (“the Keeper”) for his agreement under section 1 of the Act. To assist authorities in this process, the Keeper is required to publish a model RMP (“Model Plan”) that has been produced in consultation with stakeholders. To this end the Keeper established a Public Records Stakeholder Forum (“the Forum”) in 2011 to help develop the Model Plan. The agreed Model Plan was published by the Keeper in 2013 to help named authorities develop their own plans. The Keeper considers five years is an appropriate point at which to review the Model Plan to ensure it continues to meet the needs of public authorities.

Why your views matter

The Keeper decided to review the Model Plan to ensure it continues to work for public authorities and support the aims of the Act. To help him do this he convened a Stakeholder Forum. It was not possible to have every public authority represented at the Forum, but notes of the meetings were published and all stakeholders were encouraged to engage remotely. The Keeper’s assessment team drew on the work of the Forum to draft a revised Model Plan. There are some material changes, including a new Element, the adoption of headline statements and the addition of ‘what best practice might include’ bullet points under each element. The revised Plan also now references data protection law as and where appropriate. This consultation aims to solicit the views of public authorities, archivists and record management professionals and the wider public on the Keeper’s revised Model Plan. The views gathered will be used to gauge the appropriateness of what is proposed and to identify any gaps or shortcomings. Stakeholders views will ensure the Model Plan continues to help authorities understand and meet their obligations under the Act. It will also help ensure we maintain progress against records management improvements across the public sector.

Read the consultation paper.