In the UK and indeed the vast majority of countries we have a plethora of rules and regulations that apply in part or in full to records management practices. We have sought to create a list (not exhaustive) of some of the legislation that mandates appropriate records management practices in the UK.
The Data Protection Act 2018: This legislation regulates the handling and processing of personal data in the UK, and requires organizations to implement appropriate records management measures to protect the privacy of individuals.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000: This legislation gives individuals the right to access information held by public authorities, and requires organizations to have effective systems in place for records management and retrieval.
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004: This legislation gives individuals the right to access environmental information held by public authorities, and requires organizations to implement appropriate records management measures to facilitate this access.
The Public Records Act 1958: This legislation regulates the management of public records in the UK, and requires public authorities to have effective systems in place for the preservation, storage and retrieval of public records.
The Companies Act 2006: This legislation regulates the management of company records in the UK, and requires companies to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679: This legislation regulates the handling and processing of personal data in the EU, and requires organizations to implement appropriate records management measures to protect the privacy of individuals.
The National Archives (Records Management) Act 1997: This legislation regulates the management of records held by public authorities in the UK, and requires public authorities to have effective systems in place for the preservation, storage and retrieval of public records.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974: This legislation regulates the management of health and safety records in the UK, and requires organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: This legislation regulates the management of financial records in the UK, and requires organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
The Human Rights Act 1998: This legislation regulates the management of human rights records in the UK, and requires organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA): This legislation protects whistleblowers who reveal information about wrongdoing within an organization, and requires organizations to have appropriate records management systems in place to facilitate the investigation of such disclosures.
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA): This legislation regulates the use of surveillance and covert investigative techniques by public authorities, and requires organizations to have appropriate records management systems in place to facilitate compliance with the legislation.
The Equality Act 2010: This legislation regulates the management of records related to discrimination and equal opportunities, and requires organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
The Accounting Records and Reports Regulations 2015: This legislation regulates the management of financial records and reports, and requires organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
The Health Records and Information Management Regulation (HRIMR) 2002: This legislation regulates the management of health records, and requires healthcare organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time and to ensure their security and confidentiality.
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015: This legislation regulates the management of records related to public contracts, and requires organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
The Bribery Act 2010: This legislation regulates the management of records related to bribery and corruption, and requires organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
The Criminal Justice Act 2003: This legislation regulates the management of records related to criminal investigations and proceedings, and requires organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
The National Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002: This legislation regulates the management of health records in the National Health Service (NHS), and requires NHS organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time and to ensure their security and confidentiality.
The Insolvency Act 1986: This legislation regulates the management of records related to insolvency and bankruptcy, and requires organizations to keep certain records for specific periods of time.
Again, please note that this list is not exhaustive nor do the summaries do the depth of the regulation any justice. We do hope they help you better understand the landscape out there.
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