Awareness Training Seminar

Freedom of Information20th September 2004

Outline

1. Objectives for the Seminar2. Overview & Background3. Publication Scheme4. Request Procedures5. Retention & Disposal Schedule6. Summary7. Questions/Answers

Overview & Background

Edmund ThomHead of Corporate Services

Objectives

At the end of the Session you will

UNDERSTAND the objectives of the Act

UNDERSTAND basic FOI procedures

UNDERSTAND its impact on your work

CONSIDER the next steps

Overview & Background

Freedom of Information Act 2000• Act is brought fully into force on

1ST JANUARY 2005• NIPEC Working Group

• Edmund Thom• Hazel Craig• Susan Ekin• Mark Jamison

NIPEC’s Responsibilities

Produce and maintain its Publication Scheme

Deal with individual requests for information when the right of access comes into force

NIPEC is obliged to produce information recorded both before and after the Act was passed

Vital that records are held within a structured Records Management System

Publication Scheme

Susan EkinLibrarian

FOI Legislation

Under the terms of the FOI Act, every Publication Scheme must specify

Classes of information which a public authority publishes or intends to publish

The manner in which the information is, or will be, published

Whether the information will be supplied at a cost or whether it is free of charge

Appeals procedure

Publication Scheme: ClassesClasses have been drawn up to ensure ease of access by the public to available information.Some classes may contain data subject to exemptions and this is made clear within the Scheme. Following are some examples:

Information may be obtained elsewhere Information is required for

investigations or legal proceedings Personal data Commercial interests

Publication Scheme: Groups

NIPEC’s published information has been arranged into five broad groups:

Group One – About the Organisation Group Two – Policy and Planning Group Three – Finance Group Four – Internal Guidance Group Five – External Guidance

Each Group is then broken down into sub-sections, with a description of the

type of document included, availability and cost if applicable

Publication Scheme: Groups

Group 1 – About the Organisation Organisational Structure Communication Minutes of meetings

Group 2 – Policy and Planning Corporate Strategies Business Plans Reports & Consultations

Personnel Issues (excluding personal data)

ICT Health & Safety Complaints

Publication Scheme: Groups

Group 3 - Finance Annual Accounts Internal Financial Guidance

Group 4 – Internal Guidance

Publication Scheme: Groups

Group 5 – External Guidance Professional Advice

Future Publication Development Framework

The FOI Legislation

The Freedom of Information Act confers two statutory rights on members of the public:

to be told whether or not a public authority holds the information they seek and, if so,

to have that information communicated to them

Request Procedures

Mark JamisonIT & Information Officer

Prerequisites

Within NIPEC All staff should be aware of what to do

if they receive a request for information

Effective Records Management structures are in place

A member of staff is identified to co-ordinate responses

A recording mechanism is put in place to list current and previous requests

The Deadline

All FOI requests must be answered within 20 working days, beginning from receipt of request

Time away from Office Holidays Sickness

May seem a long time, but take into account

The NIPEC FOI Request Procedure

Receipt of Information

Check, Clarify, Acknowledge

Search & Fees

Retrieve & Release

Step One – Receipt of Information

Is it a valid request?

Can the request be dealt with in the normal course of business?

Name & AddressDate received

Phone NumberFax NumberEmail Address

MINIMUM DESIRABLE

If the request can be answered within 24 hours, then it should be.

NIPEC MINIMUM

Step Two – Check, Clarify, Acknowledge

Log request onto FOI Database

Contact Details

Description of Request

Transfer within NIPEC

Deadline

Step Two – Check, Clarify, Acknowledge

Log request onto FOI Database If request is invalid

Contact requester for clarification Check Publication Scheme Check Previous Requests Acknowledge receipt of the request and

confirm in writing

Step Three – Search & Fees

Quick Search/Review If there is a cost, then the requester

is given a period of time to pay amount

Requester is informed whether an exemption is being claimed

Step Four – Retrieve & Release All information relevant to request is now retrieved

and photocopied A review is carried out identifying confidential data

based on the exemptions Noted on photocopied paper Confidential info hidden using Black Marker or Tipp-

Ex Information is recopied (to ensure any hidden info is

completely hidden) and forwarded to ATL for release

Retention & Disposal Schedule

Hazel CraigAdmin Team Leader

Retention & Disposal Schedule

A retention & disposal schedule for documentation within the organisation has been drawn up for NIPEC using the guidelines given by the Department

A copy of this schedule has been made available for all staff in their packs

Retention & Disposal Schedule

A key document for NIPEC

Type of Document Minimum period retained Action required, when

retention period has been reached

Final action

Retention & Disposal Schedule

Final Action

Review – require an appraisal Retain Permanently – e.g. inventories

of permanent equipment Permanent Preservation – e.g. files of

historical value often forwarded to PRONI

Destroy – records of no continuing business/legal value

Yearly Review & Disposal of Documents

Drawn up by NIPEC Working Group

A guide for staff of when action will be taken in regard to the disposal of documents

Covers up to the Year 2010

Responsibility for Disposal of Records

Initially there appears that there is not a lot of work for staff to do, however …

As time progresses …

Work

Time (in Years)

This work will be on a sliding scale involving work with the clerical, administration and professional staff

Summary

Edmund ThomHead of Corporate Services

Summary

This will affect everyone at every level

This covers almost everything NIPEC holds and is fully retrospective

Key Impact Areas Records Staff Work

KEY IMPACT AREA: Records

Manage records better Accurate recording Develop an Archive Policy Improved storage/retrieval

procedures New culture of proactive release of

records

KEY IMPACT AREA: Staff

Improved report writing Provided with policy/procedure

guidelines Improved record keeping Awareness of appeal system

KEY IMPACT AREA: Work

Write objectively Ensure what you write is relevant Record context of file note/record Document reasons for decisions generally Refer to policies in decision making Manage records better: Accurate

recording, filing and retrieval Improved standards of documentation,

culling and archiving of records

“It is a criminal offence to alter, deface or destroy to prevent disclosure of information”

Any Questions