1. Introduction
This guidance is aimed primarily for the attention of the secretariat of an inquiry and other inquiry staff with key responsibilities for the management of information and records.
Public inquiries are conducted on behalf of Scottish Ministers and, therefore, any records created or acquired by an inquiry are considered public records. Those responsible for public records, including the chair of an inquiry, have a duty to ensure that there are suitable arrangements in place for the selection of, and post-transfer access to, any records selected for permanent preservation. It is also the duty of the inquiry chair to make sure that the record of the inquiry is comprehensive and well-ordered as outlined in The Inquiries (Scotland) Rules 2007.
Public inquiries investigate issues of serious public concern. Therefore records created during the course of a public inquiry are highly significant historical documents and it is crucial that the information is managed effectively to ensure its survival for future policy makers and researchers.
Benefits of good information management:
- Provides an evidentiary base, reflecting: why the inquiry was needed; its terms of reference and how the inquiry operated; the expectations of the community within which the inquiry operated and the values it sought to uphold; imparting accountability and transparency to the inquiry findings.
- Ensures inquiry staff can efficiently and effectively access and use information to support the inquiry ’s business needs and functions.
- Optimises electronic storage, staff time and resources.
- Supports compliance with relevant legislation.
- Helps to protect personal or sensitive information.
- Enables the efficient selection and transfer of the record of the inquiry.
Risks of poor information management:
- Failure to provide a complete and accurate lasting record resulting in a lack of trust in its findings and undermining the purpose of the inquiry.
- May struggle to run efficiently leading to poor and un-informed decision making.
- Non-compliance with legislation, policy and best practice.
- Additional storage and staffing costs and requirements.
- Loss of business continuity.
- Risk of sensitive information being disclosed both during and after the inquiry.
- Reputational loss.
- Inconsistent or poor levels of service.
- Enforcement action by the Scottish Information Commissioner.
2. Roles and responsibilities
After an inquiry has been established, it is advised that all roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined. To facilitate this, inquiry staff should consult with NRS on the manner and format of creating, maintaining and transferring the record of the inquiry, as outlined in s.16(1) of The Inquiries (Scotland) Rules 2007. It is also advised that the chair meets with the relevant sponsor department to agree how records created or received by the inquiry will be administered, and to put in place arrangements for the management of records after the inquiry’s conclusion.
The National Records of Scotland (NRS)
- Advises on best practice and standards in the management of public records.
- Liaises with and offers guidance to inquiry staff on the management, appraisal, sensitivity review and preparation of records for transfer to NRS.
- Agrees the selection of records for permanent preservation.
- Archives the inquiry website.
- Archives the record of the inquiry and provides access for research purposes.
The Inquiry Chair
- Consults the Keeper (NRS) and on the manner and format of creating, maintaining and transferring the record of the inquiry.
- Establishes a secretariat that has responsibility for the management of all inquiry information and records.
- Ensures that the record of the inquiry is comprehensive and well-ordered.
- Transfers custody of the record of the inquiry to the Keeper of the Records of Scotland at the conclusion of the inquiry.
The Inquiry Secretary/Secretariat
- Establishes a corporate records management policy, and other associated policies and procedures, for the effective management of information and records.
- Appoints an officer knowledgeable in records and information management to lead and advise the inquiry on such matters.
- Ensures that inquiry staff are fully trained, aware of legal and good practice requirements and the need to maintain accurate records in their inquiry work.
- Establishes a file plan and a records retention and disposal schedule for the management of records.
- Seeks appropriate funding for managing the inquiry record while the inquiry is active, for the appropriate disposal of records not deemed worthy of permanent preservation and for the period of time (including the preparatory work which should be undertaken) prior to the transfer of the record of the inquiry and confirmation of a successful transfer.
- Ensures arrangements are in place for the selection and archiving of records with long-term historical value, including the identification of records sensitivities.
- Liaises and consults with NRS.
The Sponsor Department
- Advises the inquiry on the operation of information and records management procedures in the department which the inquiry may wish to adopt.
- Agrees which records will be transferred for temporary retention by the sponsor department for the regulatory defined period of time and confirm which records will be transferred to NRS for permanent preservation.
- Ensures that the records identified for destruction are deleted or shredded in accordance with Scottish Government retention and disposal schedules and in compliance with the sixth principle of the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.
3. Information and Records Management Policies
An information and records management policy is a statement of commitment by an inquiry to manage their records appropriately to comply with information legislation, meet the ongoing needs of the inquiry team and deliver a comprehensive and well-ordered record at the end of the Inquiry.
Records represent a vital asset which not only support the daily functions of the inquiry but demonstrates to future researchers how the inquiry operated and managed their records. It is recommended that an inquiry creates an information and records management plan from the outset of an inquiry as part of good records management practice. This is particularly vital for public inquiries which deal mostly with digital records since a digital environment makes it more difficult to ensure that records remain authentic, accessible and preservable for future generations.
NRS recommends that the information and records management policy include the following points:
- An individual senior staff member identified as holding corporate responsibility for records management. Where an inquiry has already appointed a Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) or similar person, they should consider making that person responsible for the records management programme. This ensures that records management has endorsement at the highest levels and it is given the appropriate level of priority and authority.
- An individual staff member identified as holding operational responsibility for records management who has appropriate corporate responsibility, and access to the required resources and skills.
- A policy statement which commits the inquiry to govern the creation and management of authentic, reliable and useable records, capable of supporting business functions and activities and which will form a comprehensive record of the inquiry.
- A commitment to establish a file plan, information asset register or similar to assist staff to save, locate and recover records efficiently (including evidence submitted to the inquiry, the inquiry website and correspondence).
- Principles for the selection of records for permanent preservation and arrangements for the disposal of records.
- Assurance that records are held in accordance with information security compliance requirements. This includes not only the physical safety of records in all formats (e.g. the protection of servers used to store digital material) but also the need to identify and manage sensitive information at the point of document creation. This will greatly aid the sensitivity review of records prior to transfer to NRS and the SG sponsor department.
To complement the Information and Records Management Policy, an inquiry may wish to create and publish the following related policies and procedures:
4. File plan
A File Plan reflects the activities of an inquiry through a planned and managed series of folders. It acts as a roadmap: listing different records (both paper and digital) maintained by the inquiry, where and how they are stored, and how long they are to be kept. An effective file plan should allow staff to store and retrieve information efficiently while providing control over access to information. It should be readily understood by inquiry staff at all levels, and by NRS staff who will appraise inquiry records via an initial assessment of the file plan, as well as future researchers investigating how the inquiry operated. It could be a helpful tool to aid the sensitivity review process by recording any sensitivities at the point of records creation. Reviewing digital records for sensitivities at the end of an inquiry can be an expensive and time-consuming process, however, proactive records management can help to negate the burden at the end of the inquiry. For example, if information is expected to be subject to exemptions to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 once the record is passed to NRS or the Scottish Government sponsor department, this should be recorded at the point of creation and could be done through, for example: a protective marking on the electronic document and records management system or, more manually, through an inquiry document index.
EDRMS
An inquiry may wish to make use of the services of the Scottish Government’s Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) or may wish to acquire an alternative solution, or a combination thereof. Irrespective of which option an inquiry chooses, an EDRMS must support the following functions:
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The system should support the export of records, in particular, the ability to transfer large amounts of records to NRS at the end of the inquiry. There is often a cost to export records out of an EDRMS and this should be budgeted by the inquiry in advance of its conclusion.
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The system should have a search facility to allow staff to quickly locate records.
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There should be a logical structure to the system, as outlined in a file plan, and records should be created and saved according to function.
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It should use unique identifiers with accurate metadata and the ability to link between redacted and unredacted versions of a document.
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It should employ a systematic, meaningful and easy to understand naming convention.
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The ability to keep an audit trail, complying to minimum metadata requirements, of all changes to digital documents, who made changes and when, as well as any sensitivities and the disposal decision e.g. transfer to NRS.
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Records should be secure and, if necessary, additional protective measures put in place for highly sensitive information.
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Records should ideally be created and stored in recommended file formats which are preservable, whether this is an inquiry transcript or a piece of CCTV footage. Advice on the type of recommended file formats can be provided by NRS. Should proprietary file formats be used, for example: architectural modelling software, the NRS Digital Records Unit should be consulted at an early stage.
Other Information Systems
Due to the complex work of inquiries, it is possible that some part of the inquiry’s record will be created and stored within other types of information systems e.g. case management systems, e-discovery systems, contacts management database, social media accounts.
This information should be managed in accordance with all information management principles set out above where practically possible. As a minimum, information stored with separate information systems should be recorded within the Inquiry’s File Plan, so that this can be considered for future appraisal and selection with NRS.
Sometimes the export and preservation of records from separate information systems can be challenging. Therefore, we recommend notifying NRS of the use of these sorts of systems at the earlier juncture, so that we can provide appropriate advice and guidance.
5. Records Retention and Disposal Schedule
Consideration for the ultimate disposal of all records, either created or received by the inquiry, must occur from the outset of an inquiry. A Records Retention and Disposal Schedule should form a key part of a Records Retention and Disposal Policy and be developed in line with an inquiry’s file plan. The schedule should detail the recommended retention periods for records created or received by an inquiry in line with business need, legislative, statutory and regulatory requirements, regardless of format.
Please note that ‘disposal’ does not mean destruction. It refers to the end destination for records created and received by an inquiry. This can include: transfer to NRS; transfer to SG sponsor department; or destroy. Once a retention and disposal schedule has been drafted, NRS should be consulted before any sign-off.
Each inquiry is very different; investigating a wide range of topics. As independent bodies, inquiries may also wish to approach their tasks in different ways and subsequently will be creating and storing different types of records. Below is an example of some of the types of records an inquiry might create and the recommended retention periods. This can be adapted to suit individual inquires.
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Number
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Type of information
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Retention period
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1.
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The final published version of the inquiry report
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Permanent
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2.
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Initial draft report plus any subsequent drafts with substantial changes (NRS would only archive a draft report if there was a major change in direction/policy between an initial draft and the final report)
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Retain 7 years after the final report
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3.
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The entire contents of the website via the NRS Web Archive (responsibility for the active website would pass to your sponsor body)
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Permanent
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4.
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All evidence provided to the inquiry which was deemed relevant to its terms of reference (evidence used by the inquiry either in hearings, referenced in the final report, shared with core participants…). Both redacted and unredacted (this is so NRS can provide access to material once the sensitivity has lapsed).
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Permanent
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5.
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An index of all evidence received by the inquiry whether or not it was deemed relevant to its Terms of Reference. This should include information detailing the provenance and the date when received by the inquiry along with other essential metadata.
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Permanent
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6.
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Establishment documentation including:
- Terms of Reference
- Protocols and policies with which the inquiry is to regulate its conduct.
- Advice given by the counsel to the inquiry in relation to its conduct
- Certificates of full disclosure by those who provided evidence to the inquiry
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Permanent
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7.
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Operational documentation including:
- An overview of how the inquiry operated and managed its records
- All internal procedures, manuals and guidance relating to the conduct and work of the inquiry (manuals concerning how to operate software systems, for example, do not need to be preserved)
- Work plans
- Criteria used for deciding relevant and irrelevant material
- Overall costings
- Copyright and licensing
- Notebooks of inquiry team
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Permanent
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8.
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Video and audio records of hearings and interviews of potential witnesses (both redacted and unredacted)
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Permanent
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9.
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Transcripts of hearings and interviews of potential witnesses (both redacted and unredacted)
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Permanent
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10.
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All minutes of the inquiry panel or minutes of meetings held during the course of the Inquiry by the panel (both redacted and unredacted)
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Permanent
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11.
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Correspondence between the inquiry (including chair, counsel and inquiry members) and members of the general public, core participants and other government bodies.
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Permanent
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12.
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Legal opinion and related correspondence
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Permanent
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13.
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Witness preparation files
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Permanent
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14
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Witness statements and expert reports, whether or not they were signed (both redacted and unredacted)
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Permanent
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15.
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All written submissions and transcripts of oral submissions unless a restriction order applies (please make NRS aware if this is the case)
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Permanent
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16.
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Restriction notices and Section 21 requests including applications for extensions
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Permanent
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17.
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Warning Letters
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Permanent
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18.
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Counsels’ reports and notes
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Permanent
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19.
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Litigation records
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Permanent
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20.
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Schedules of witnesses
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Retain 7 years after the final report
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21.
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Evidence of steps taken to secure the attendance of witnesses
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Retain 7 years after the final report
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22.
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Published research gathered by the inquiry
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Retain 7 years after the final report
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23.
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Financial records (A high-level overview of inquiry spending should be transferred to NRS)
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Retain 7 years after the final report
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24.
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HR/staffing records
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Retain 7 years after the final report
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25.
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Parliamentary questions
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Retain 7 years after the final report
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26.
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Liaison with sponsor department and NRS
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Retain 7 years after the final report
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6. Sensitivity Review
When establishing the file plan, inquiry staff should also consider the management of sensitive information which should be protected under the Data Protection Act 2018, or exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs). While an inquiry is ‘live’, it is not subject to FOISA, or EIR however, once the inquiry has concluded and its records have been transferred to NRS and the sponsor department, the legislation comes into effect. Therefore, all records identified for permanent preservation must be reviewed by inquiry staff, prior to transfer to NRS, to determine whether they can be opened immediately, whether any FOISA or EIR exemptions apply and, if so, for how long. Resources must be allocated to allow staff, who have the specialist knowledge of the workings of the inquiry and its records, to carry out and complete a review.
Information created and used during the course of the inquiry is likely to be entirely in digital format. Inquiry staff should be mindful that the form, and increased volume, of digital records can make a sensitivity review more complex and time consuming to conduct. Should a sensitivity review not be conducted thoroughly and accurately, records may be closed unnecessarily to public scrutiny resulting in a serious risk of lack of confidence in the findings and integrity of an inquiry. During the course of the inquiry, there should be a system in place in the inquiry’s day-to-day work to identify sensitive material, which complies to minimum metadata requirements, and to ensure that this has been audited to confirm that all staff adhere to it. It is recommended that an inquiry, for example, tags or logs sensitive information at the point of creation or ingestion by staff as this will significantly help to save time and money at the conclusion of an inquiry and ensure a complete and thorough sensitivity review.
We would also strongly recommend that the Inquiry begins the process of sensitivity review as soon as feasibly possible – ideally as close to the point of record creation as possible. This task should not be left to the final stages of an inquiry’s existence, when subject matter experts and technical staff may no longer be available to support decision making. NRS is available to provide guidance on how sensitive information should be managed throughout the lifetime of the inquiry.
Three key pieces of information are required for any sensitivity review:
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Information needed
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Description
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Access status
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Whether the files will be open or closed to public access on receipt by NRS.
e.g. Open or Closed
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Access conditions
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The FOISA exemption which applies to the document or file. More than one exemption can apply but the ‘open from’ date will be based on the longest exemption:
e.g. S.38(1)(b) Personal Information of a Third Party
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Open from
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The date on which the closure falls away
NRS opens records on 1st January of the year following the end of a closure e.g. 21040101
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At the end of the inquiry, this information should be added to the ‘manifest file’ which must accompany the transfer of digital records. More information on what the manifest file should contain is available in the Depositor Guidance for the Transfer of Archival Born Digital Records.
NRS recognises that personal data and protecting the anonymity of individuals is a significant concern for inquiries. However, the destruction of public records to provide this anonymity is not recommended and could compromise future accountability and transparency in an inquiry’s findings. Judgement on whether sensitive data should form part of the record of the inquiry should be based on its relevance to an inquiry’s terms of reference and whether it demonstrates an inquiry’s workings. NRS has considerable experience in handling highly sensitive data and understands the importance of inquiry records and protecting people’s sensitive information. NRS will work with an inquiry to ensure the balance of protecting personal data and anonymity is met while retaining the necessary information to ensure an inquiry’s findings meet the requirements of authenticity, reliability, integrity and usability.
7. Appraisal and the Selection of Records
Appraisal is the process of distinguishing records of continuing value. Archival appraisal determines whether records have permanent, research value within the context of the inquiry’s terms of reference and how the inquiry operated, or whether a record has met its business need and has no further value. Appraisal is an ongoing process that should be undertaken by members of the inquiry, in consultation with NRS and an inquiry’s sponsor body throughout its lifetime.
Effective appraisal is dependent on good systems of record creation and adherence to records retention schedules. By developing a Records Retention and Disposal Schedule, selection decisions can be made from the outset of record creation and should always be used in the first instance when making decisions over retaining or disposing of records. The secretary of an inquiry should make sure that all staff are able to file records in the appropriate part of the file plan and understand what needs to be preserved beyond the life of the inquiry. Decisions over what should be permanently preserved should be documented to ensure transparency in the appraisal process.
Discussions on what should be transferred to NRS will take place over several meetings between the inquiry and NRS and will be based, in the first instance, on an inquiry’s file plan and retention schedule. NRS must agree the final list of records for permanent preservation, as well as the destruction of records not deemed to have long-term value.
Inquiry staff may wish to ask themselves the following questions when assessing the value of their records at the conclusion of the inquiry:
- Is the information relevant to the inquiry’s terms of reference?
- Does the information reflect the workings of the inquiry or demonstrate the decisions or policies made, or a change in direction?
- Does the information demonstrate evidence of legal compliance or accountability?
- Is the information required to be retained for current or future business need?
- Is the information available elsewhere (duplicate/published)?
- Is the information ‘low level’ (e.g. HR staffing records, day to day administration, office procurement, travel expenses etc…)?
Other factors to bear in mind when appraising records:
- Selection decisions should not be made on the format of the records but on the contents and use of the record. However the format, and any licensing or metadata issues, should be raised at any early stage of discussions with NRS. Advice on what types of file formats are preservable can be provided by NRS. NRS takes a file format agnostic approach to digital preservation and would aim to preserve the original format as far as possible.
- The destruction of records (or parts of records) to maintain anonymity or protect highly sensitive data is not advised. To do so would compromise the integrity and authenticity of the record of the inquiry and could result in a lack of trust in an inquiry’s findings.
- Any records of the inquiry not to be permanently preserved but required to be retained for a regulatory period of time should be transferred to the inquiry’s sponsor department.
- There should be a mechanism in place for the secure destruction of agreed records, including any electronic backups.
- Disposal schedules, which detail the relevant records and the date on which they were destroyed (following agreement of NRS), should be transferred to the inquiry’s sponsor department.
- All records selected for permanent preservation must be sensitivity reviewed at document level and have accompanying metadata which detail whether the record can be open or closed on transfer, the particular FOISA or EIR exemption, and the date on which the record can be opened. See section 6 on Sensitivity Review.
8. Websites
The official inquiry website is the public face of an inquiry and is an important tool for sharing information, publishing reports, or presenting key evidence. After the conclusion of an inquiry, the website will remain the primary record and the main point of access for the public via the NRS Web Archive. It is therefore important that the ongoing management of an inquiry website is incorporated into an inquiry’s wider approach to information and records management.
Setting up an archive friendly website
There are a number of things that can improve the visibility of content for archiving from the initial outset of a website:
- Use http GET instead of http POST.
- Provide every unique resource (pages, images and files) on the website with its own static URL.
- Allow every resource in the public domain to be browsed as well as searched i.e. positioned on ‘front-end’ of the site, reachable via http.
- Have a sitemap (html or xml).
- Provide a static alternative for streamed AV content that is fully resolvable (by http GET requests).
- Use breadcrumb trails where possible.
- Make hyperlinks logical, human-readable and consistent. See the mygov.scot URL style guide.
- Where possible, make sure all content is under one central website domain, for example https://www.mygov.scot/. Anything outside this root domain will not be automatically archived. This makes it easy to identify whether the entire site has been captured in the web-crawl, thereby ensuring transparency of process and data both during and after the inquiry.
- Follow accessibility standards - if the site is accessible, it will very likely be archive-friendly as well.
- Where scalable, provide a static alternative to significant information contained within interactive maps e.g. .html, .jpeg, .csv download. If this is not possible, speak to NRS about how this content can be preserved.
- Make sure HTML5 and CSS are validated and standards compliant.
More information is available on resources.myscot.scot.
The web-archiving process
Web archiving ensures an inquiry’s website content can be found by users if it’s removed or an update is made to the live version. It also captures an inquiry website at a moment in time, preserving it within the web archive. Subsequent captures can demonstrate the evolution of an inquiry.
An inquiry will be asked to complete a short NRS website questionnaire which will provide the information required to begin archiving an inquiry’s website. The web archive utilises a remote harvesting method whereby ‘polite’ automated web crawlers collect web pages without any interference in the website’s functionality.
An initial crawl of the inquiry website will take place shortly after the launch of the site when there may be little content available. This is both for posterity and to assess whether there will be any likely future difficulties in archiving the website. The website will then be captured approximately every six months while the inquiry remains active. NRS will aim to align crawls after periods of increased upload activity if possible, e.g. after a phase of hearings has been completed and the associated evidence has been uploaded to the website.
After a website has been crawled, NRS will undertake a quality assurance check, ensuring that the website captured well, and whether there are any broken links or faulty videos or uploads. If any significant issues are found, a second crawl may be arranged to capture the website a second time. The NRS Web Archive Team will then create a post-crawl report to feed back to the inquiry.
It is vital that any changes made to the live website with regards to additional redactions resulting from a General Restriction Order must be reported to NRS immediately. The web archive creates a snapshot of the inquiry’s website as it looked on that day. Ideally, an inquiry should aim to complete any redactions prior to upload to the website and any review of published redactions by the end of an inquiry hearing phase and the scheduled web crawl. Should an inquiry conduct further redactions following a crawl, the NRS web archive could potentially hold information open to the public which should be closed. It is critical that NRS are informed so the affected crawls can be removed from public access immediately. Information on how a Takedown request can be submitted is available in the NRS Records Reclosure and Takedown Policy. Should any part of an inquiry’s website not be suitable for archiving due to the use of restriction orders or other legal or intellectual issues, NRS should be made aware of this through the Web Archiving Questionnaire so this part of the site can be excluded from capture.
Other technical considerations
- NRS can only archive publicly-available content. Any content within password protected areas or in other inaccessible areas, should either be published on the website, if appropriate, or transferred to NRS via other means.
- NRS is unable to archive YouTube videos embedded within an inquiry’s website. Videos published on the website should be retained either in their original format or in an archive-friendly format such as MPG, and transferred to NRS at the end of an inquiry.
- NRS must be notified of any third-party copyright material on an inquiry’s website and, if possible, permission from the copyright owners to reproduce the content on the NRS Web Archive, both during and after the inquiry, should be sought.
Preparing the website for the end of the inquiry
There are a number of steps an inquiry must undertake in preparation for the end of the inquiry with regards to the ongoing maintenance of the live website and web archive captures.
- A final crawl of the website will be taken after an inquiry has published its final report and no further data is to be added to the website. No further content can be added to the archived website once the live website has been taken offline.
- An inquiry should decide how long the live website will remain active once the inquiry is closed.
- In preparation for the closure of the live site, the sponsor body should consider how best to redirect the Inquiry website domain (e.g. www.publicinquiry.scot) so users are taken to a meaningful resource and not a broken link. This is likely to be the final archived capture of the Inquiry’s site, but may be a page on a related live site such as www.gov.scot. If it is a page on a live site, we would recommend that this page also includes a link to an archived capture of the Inquiry site.
- It is essential that an inquiry arranges with their sponsor body for the website domain name to be retained in perpetuity. This is to prevent ‘cybersquatting’.
- Content from archived websites can only be removed if one or more of the criteria in NRS Records Reclosure and Takedown Policy is met.
9. Preparing Records for Transfer
While a public inquiry may not report for several years, it is important to be conscious of the final endpoint for inquiry records and to incorporate this awareness within the inquiry’s objectives and day-to-day operations. Following the publication of an inquiry’s final report, an inquiry may wish to revisit this chapter.
After the record of the inquiry has been agreed and the sensitivity review has been completed, preparations for the transfer of records can progress. It is important at this stage to meet regularly with NRS who can provide detailed guidance on the technical requirements needed to ensure a successful and complete transfer. This is particularly crucial with the transfer of digital records as the nature, form and volume of digital records require additional care and advance consultation between inquiry staff and NRS. Initial information on how an inquiry’s records should be packaged for transfer is available in the NRS Depositor Guidance for the Transfer of Archival Born Digital Records. Following the steps recommended in the earlier sections of this guidance, particularly regarding technical and sensitivity requirements, will greatly aid in ensuring an efficient transfer process.
Factors to consider in preparing inquiry records for transfer:
- The inquiry is responsible for preparing selected records for transfer to NRS and for ensuring that they are packaged in the manner specified in the Transfer Guidance for Digital Records. Similarly, the inquiry is responsible for the transfer of any records to be maintained temporarily by their sponsor body.
- All records to be transferred to NRS must have a completed and thorough sensitivity review to be considered comprehensive and well-ordered.
- The sensitivity review information must be included in the ‘Manifest’ document (described in further detail in the Transfer Guidance for Digital Records) and this should be sent to NRS in advance of the actual transfer.
- The inquiry must ensure that the copyright status of records has been agreed and will not prevent the archiving or publication of material by NRS post-transfer.
- The data controller of the inquiry’s records following the conclusion of the inquiry must be formally established prior to transfer.
- As an inquiry winds down, it is natural for an inquiry to operate with fewer staff however it is vital to ensure that staff members with the required skills and expertise in records management and information technology are retained during this period.
- Contracts with any external EDRMS suppliers or separate information systems must remain in place until NRS can confirm that the record of the inquiry has transferred successfully. This may take a number of weeks following transfer for NRS to complete validation checks and to confirm successful receipt. Until which point, an inquiry should also retain its registration with the Scottish Information Commissioner. The inquiry should also keep a copy of the records transferred until such a time NRS have confirmed the transfer to be successful.
- It is recommended that following final selection and sensitivity review of documents and the transfer of the digital records, none of the files and folders are moved or the metadata changed. This is to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the records and to make the process of ingestion checks smoother.
- The inquiry secretariat must ensure that any EDRMS and any separate information systems support the export of records and, in particular, the ability to transfer large amounts of records to NRS at the end of the inquiry. There is often a cost to export records from an EDRMS and this should be budgeted by the inquiry in advance of its conclusion.
- Metadata and metadata fields used within an EDRMS and any separate information systems should be easy to interpret. In the case of large amounts of obscure metadata fields, NRS may ask for the inquiry to prepare an explanatory field guide list.
- A full audit of evidence received, destroyed or given back to third parties must be maintained by the inquiry secretariat. A copy of this index will form part of the record of the inquiry to be transferred to the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.
