Government Recordkeeping in the United Kingdom

Local and National Government in the UK has a duty to provide access to official government records as defined by two specific pieces of legislation: the Public Records Act (1958, 1967) and the Freedom of Information Act (2000). The earlier act defined the official public information that should be captured and stored, as well as the period during which it should be retained and made available. The later act refined this to take into account the wider range of storage mediums and increased diversity of information. An additional act – The Environmental Information Regulations (2004) specified new regulations about environmental information and provides rules about disclosure of this.

These U.K. regulations are generally vague and technology-neutral, allowing them to apply to online data like webpages, social media accounts, mobile text messages, and enterprise collaboration platforms. 

Government bodies have a specific role, the Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO), who is tasked to ensure that the areas in which they have oversight deliver the openness and comply with the legislation. One of the areas they are targeted to deliver is Digital Continuity and Forensic Readiness. The guidelines, issued by the National Archive, specify 3 key points:

• “Organisations should maintain the quality and effectiveness of their records management systems in order that specific business records can be produced as evidence in court or to address any legal or regulatory requirement.” 
•  “Organisations should provide appropriate records retrieval processes and mechanisms in order that any requirement to disclose information can be efficiently and securely dealt with. Such disclosures must be handled in accordance with all relevant legislation and regulations.”
• “It is important that the retrieval process is effective, efficient and secure… The technology and methods used should support the selective release of information so that the appropriate information can be retrieved and isolated for release.”

 With the above in mind, government entities must capture and preserve online data, not only to respond to open records requests, but also to prepare for any possible litigation that arises from online data and to assist in the long-term preservation of digital content.