Scottish Government Records Management Plan details: FOI release

Information requested

The current Scottish Government records management plan/retention system for ministerial decisions and any changes which have been made in the last three years, including specifically what changes were made.

Response

The Scottish Government Records Management Plan is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-records-management-plan-2/ . The retention arrangements for our information can be found in the ‘Supporting documents’ under ‘Scottish Government Casework File Type Guidance January 2025’ and ‘Scottish Government File Type Guidance January 2025’. Ministerial decisions can be made across a broad spectrum of these file types so the retention arrangements will differ according to the topic under which a decision is being made (e.g. a document containing a decision relating to policy will be stored in an electronic file which will be closed 5 years after it has been opened and then archived with National Records of Scotland 15 years after closure).

The following changes have been made to our eRDM file type guidance documentation over the last three years:

New eRDM file types created

• Audit and Assurance Management;
• Cabinet Meeting Papers;
• European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Casework;
• Fisheries and Aquaculture Casework;
• Fixated Threat and Persistent Correspondence;
• Marine Environment Consenting Casework;
• Marine Environment General Licensing Casework
• Ministerial Decisions Backup;
• Ministerial Diaries

Revision to previous retention arrangements

• Firearms Casework (was close after 5 years then archive 15 years);
• Legal Advice Working Papers (was close after 5 years then destroy 11 years after closure);
• Rural Payments Customer Casework (was close after 5 years then destroy 10 years after closure);
• Rural Payments Agent Casework (was close after 5 years then destroy 5 years after closure)

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