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

《2000年英国信息自由法》于2005年1月生效。该法规定了公共当局提供信息的重要义务和责任。为了实现这一目标，公共当局需要知道他们掌握了哪些信息，有效地管理和检索信息，迅速（在20天内）处理信息自由的请求，并通过公布计划传播信息。正如2002年根据《信息自由法》（第46条）发布的《大法官记录管理实务守则》所明确指出的那样，有效的记录管理使当局能够履行这些义务，并成为信息自由的基础。与《1998年数据保护法》和《政府现代化议程》一起，《信息自由法》是提高公共部门公开性、透明度、信任和问责制的更广泛政府议程的重要组成部分。新闻政策和信息自由对公共服务的影响以及公共当局履行其义务的效力是政府对其公民负责的重要因素，也是所有人关心的问题。该研究项目将对2000年英国信息自由法案对公共当局记录管理服务的影响进行强有力的评估。它将从三个角度（档案管理者、机构信息自由政策管理者和用户）审视这些问题，并展示每个群体如何为档案管理和信息自由之间的相互关系做出贡献并从中受益。它还将确定可在档案管理界和公共部门界分享的良好做法范例，并将通过出版物向专业、学术和公共政策界传播理论和政策研究结果。结果将是提高对信息自由对英国公共部门记录管理的影响的理解，以及用户对信息需求得到满足的程度。该研究报告将对档案管理人员、信息自由官员、负责信息自由政策和合规的管理人员、信息用户社区和相关学科具有价值。

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.