FOIMan explains how GDPR puts keeping records well at its very centre.
Back in December, the Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, indicated her wish for a new duty to document law. I’ve written previously about this here and here.
On 28 April, I explored this issue a bit further in a talk to the public sector group of the Information and Records Management Society (IRMS) at a venue in Westminster. I’d been asked to talk about the need to keep records for corporate requirements identified in the FOI s46 Code of Practice.
The s46 Code does spell out the need to keep records to meet legal requirements, to record precedent, to document legal and other rights, and to justify actions taken. It’s worth noting that s.48 of FOIA gives the Information Commissioner the power to issue “practice recommendations” requiring public authorities to bring their practice into line with the Codes of Practice. So the s46 Code establishes a duty to document and the Act gives the Commissioner (admittedly limited) powers to enforce it.
Leaving FOI behind though, I handed delegates postcards of the image above. It illustrates the data protection principles as set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Right at the centre of my image is the accountability principle. It means that organisations will not be able to comply with the other principles without being able to demonstrate their compliance. In other words, they need to keep records to show what they are doing with people’s personal data. What they told those people when it was collected. Whether they gave consent. What their data protection impact assessment concluded. And so on.
Keeping records – and keeping them well – is central to compliance with GDPR. Records management should form a central plank of your GDPR preparations over the next year. Not least because it is very clear that the Information Commissioner is very interested in records management indeed.
Let me know if you need a speaker for your event – I’m always happy to help if I can. If you’re looking for in-house training on GDPR, get in touch for a quote.
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