NRS Records Management Plan Agreed

National Records of Scotland has become the first public authority to have its records management plan (RMP) agreed by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.

The Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 requires a named authority to prepare and implement a records management plan which sets out proper arrangements for the management of its records. The Keeper of the Records of Scotland and the Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages for Scotland are named separately in the schedule of the Act. However, as both offices are currently held by Tim Ellis, the Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland, a joint RMP was submitted.

The RMP was assessed by the Public Records (Scotland) Act Assessment Team on behalf of the Keeper. They found that all elements of the RMP have been properly considered and that the relevant policies and governance structures are in place to implement the actions required by the plan.

The Assessment Team found that some elements do require development and therefore Element 10, Business Continuity, and Element 11, Audit Trail, have been agreed on 'improvement model' terms. NRS is currently well advanced in a project to establish a business continuity management system, which will help manage risk and embed a strategy to ensure business continuity. We also acknowledge that we need to improve the way in which we create and manage electronic records. NRS is fully committed to identifying and implementing an electronic records management system which will enable us to manage all of our corporate records using our new business classification scheme and retention and disposal schedule, with audit trail information accurately captured.

You can read the Keeper's assessment report in full on the Public Records (Scotland) Act section of our website. At the recommendation of the Keeper, NRS is also publishing the agreed RMP, along with the majority of the supporting evidence, as an example of good practice within the authority and the sector.