BIS, Management of sensitive files
Information management helps us move to a more efficient use of office space
The issue
The accommodation strategy gives us 8 desks / 10 people, working on the basis that we very rarely have everyone in the office on the same day, plus very little space for filing cabinets. One team had to ‘lose’ 20 filing cabinets, most of which were filled with unregistered folders containing sensitive information. Simply moving the files off site was not an option, they had to be registered as files if they were to be sent to the file store and they were too sensitive to go in the unregistered store, where in any case they would be destroyed automatically after 5 years, not good when their retention period runs to decades!
What we did
We reviewed what was actually in the cabinets and how long each of the categories needed to be kept, using The National Archives model retention schedules as a basic guide. We also reviewed the use made of these files over time and as a result we realised that they would be need to be retained for decades. Given the volume of information and its sensitivity we had to set up special themes for them in the record plan. We also had to negotiate procedures with the file store, and get agreement to the files being in the secure area (normally reserved for Secret and above). As a result of this work a new location ‘secure file store’ was created, with the added benefit that other sensitive files could be shown against this location rather than the more open file store location (carefully anodyne or coded titles may no longer be required!). We also agreed new working practices with the team, including naming conventions for individual files.
The newly registered files were linked to existing related files, but in doing al this work we found another series of registered files that also needed to be tied in.
Benefits
The unit was able to fit in to the space allocated to them, thus contributing to a multi-million pound saving on accommodation costs.
We have also reduced the risk to the Department of poorly managed information so we are now no longer reliant on someone asking the right question of the right person to get the full information. Nor do we need to burrow through drawer after drawer of files to see whether we have the information. It also means we can be confident we have retrieved all relevant files if the work moves to another department.
In addition we have identified some areas of poor IM practice in the unit and are taking steps to address them, helping them work more efficiently.