Records Management Manual PDF - Crown Prosecution Service

Records Management Manualinformation that the government would like to see published are:● Facts and analyses important in helping the Government make major policy decisions;● Information about how public services are run;● Reasons for government decisions;● Guidance on dealings with the public.Organisations covered by the Act will be obliged by the law to provide information abouttheir day-to-day business. The types of public organisations that the government wouldlike the law to cover are:● Government Departments (e.g. Dept of Health, Dept for Education and Employment);● Agencies (e.g. Benefits Agency, Employment Service);● The National Health Service;● Local Councils, and local public bodies;● The Armed Forces;● The Police and police authorities;● Schools, colleges and Universities;● Public Service Broadcasters such as BBC and Channel 4.The public organisations that will not be covered are the Special Forces (SAS and SBS)as these would not be able to carry out their duties effectively and in the interests of thenation if they were subject to the FoI Act.Some information will not be available, as it will be considered “exempt”. For example, thepublic also will not be able to see information about:● Sensitive security and intelligence matters;● Personnel files of government employees;● Information whose disclosure could undermine crime prevention or the bringing ofprosecutions;● Commercially sensitive matters.The public can request information by writing to, or sending an e-mail message to, thepublic organisation concerned.A new office of Information Commissioner and a new Information Tribunal has beencreated with wide powers to enforce the rights of the Act. The Information Commissionerwill also approve the publication schemes, which will specify the classes of informationthat the public organisation intends to publish, the manner of publication and whether theinformation is available to the public free of charge or on payment of a fee.The Freedom of Information Act 2000 will be implemented in full by January 2005 with thepublication scheme provisions being implemented first on a rolling program. The CrownProsecution Service will implement its publication schemes by June 2003.Further information can be obtained from the Freedom of Information Act 2000 leaflet,which will be available in due course.Introduction - 5 -09/2008