The impact of the UK Freedom of Information Act on records management in the public sector

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The UK Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 came into force in January 2005. The Act imposes significant duties and responsibilities on public authorities to give access to information. To achieve this, public authorities need to know what information they hold, manage and retrieve information effectively, deal expeditiously (within 20 days) with FOI requests, and disseminate information through a publication scheme. As was made clear in the Lord Chancellor's Code of Practice on the management of records published in 2002 in compliance with FOIA (s 46), effective records management enables authorities to meet these obligations and underpins FOI. Together with Data Protection Act 1998 and Modernising Government agenda, FOI is a significant part of the wider government agenda to increase openness, transparency, trust and accountability in the public sector. The impact of information policy and freedom of information on public services and the effectiveness of public authorities in meeting their obligations are significant factors in the accountability of government to its citizens and of concern to all. The research project will undertake a robust assessment of the impact of the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000 on records management services in public authorities. It will examine the issues from three perspectives (records managers, institutional FOI policy managers, and users) and demonstrate how each group contributes to and benefits from the inter-relationships between records management and FOI. It will also identify examples of good practice which can be shared within the records management and public sector communities and will disseminate theoretical and policy findings to the professional, academic and public policy communities through publication.The outcome will be an improved understanding of the impact of FOI on the management of records in the UK public sector and the extent to which user needs for information are satisfied. The research report will be of value to records managers, FOI officers, administrators responsible for FOI policy and compliance, information user communities and the associated academic disciplines.