Falkirk Council recognises that, under sections 53 and 54 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, it has a statutory obligation to ensure proper arrangements are made for the preservation and management of all records, in all formats, created by the Council, in addition to those records inherited from its predecessor authorities. In addition to this responsibility, the Council has to ensure it meets commitments in relation to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the Data Protection Act 1998 etc.
Effective records management ensures that information:
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is received or created, stored and can be easily retrieved;
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is destroyed or preserved in accordance with the Council's retention schedules;
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meets current and future needs, and is capable of supporting change; and
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is accessible to those who make use of the records and the appropriate technical, organisational and human resource elements exist to make this possible.
Responsibility for records management rests within each Service of the Council. Services are represented on the Records Management Working Group which is chaired by the Records Manager. The Records Manager is based within Law & Administration Services and manages the Corporate Records Team and also the Service Records Team for Law & Administration.
The Corporate Records Team is responsible for the Corporate Records Centre based within the Council Headquarters. The Centre holds semi-current and non-current records on behalf of other Services of the Council.