Messaging Policy 2007: FOI release

Information requested

Copies of policies on WhatsApp messages [as in transfer to official record and subsequent deletion] as at 2007 and subsequent revisions, including those currently in place ?

Response

Overarching policies providing guidance for Ministers throughout the period in which you are interested would be the Ministerial Code and the SG IT Code of Conduct

• The Ministerial Code guides Ministers on their obligations when they are found to be discussing official business without official or private office support.
• Ministers are given the ‘information for ministers’ document on appointment and are briefed by their teams (which is ongoing and in person dialogue).
• IT Code of Conduct sets out guidance on the acceptable use of Scottish Government [SG] IT services and assets known as SCOTS, in particular email and use of the intranet.

The original version of the Records Management Manual was produced by the Records Management Branch in 1997. The 2006 version of the Records Management Manual was issued post the introduction of the electronic records and documents management system known locally as eRDM and would have been in place in 2007.

The manual states that "The Information Management Unit is responsible for setting out the strategy and policies for the proper management of information resources throughout their effective life in the Executive

There is nothing specifically stated within the policy relating to the recording of the salient points of government business conducted on mobile messaging applications as they were not as prevalent at that time. In the May 2013 document SMS messages were expressly mentioned as possibly being a record and should therefore be captured in the corporate records management system known as eRDM "to provide evidence of a transaction or decision carried out by or on behalf of the Government

Please find a link to the current mobile messaging policy - Mobile messaging apps - usage and policy: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Included as attachments to this response are copies of versions of corporate policy from
May 2015
November 2017
October 2019
January 2020
September 2020
February 2021 version is the latest published version on www.gov.scot

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FOI 202400400544 - Information Released - Records Management Manual 2006

File type

26 page PDF

File size

3.5 MB

FOI 202400400544 - Information Released - Records Management Policy 2013 - 2020

File type

43 page PDF

File size

727.9 kB