Managing records and information
To comply with Data Protection and Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation, efficient records management is essential. If you are struggling to keep your information under control, then we can help. East Sussex Record Centre provides training, a consultancy service and even a full records management service to organisations.
About East Sussex Record Centre
East Sussex County Council has one of the country’s top record management services. It was established in 1974 to fulfil the authority’s statutory obligation under the Local Government Act 1972. We now successfully manage the records of East Sussex County Council and a number of other organisations. We operate from four warehouses and have over ten miles of shelving.
We currently provide a records management service for:
- East Sussex County Council
- Brighton & Hove City Council
- CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)
- East Sussex Fire Authority
- Parish Councils of East and West Sussex.
Records we store include:
- paper files and records
- maps and plans
- printouts
- microfilm
- photographs
- video tapes and other media.
Using our records management service
We can help you keep on top of your records management. For a fee, we provide a full records management service to organisations. The service we provide includes:
- confidential and secure storage of your records using a fully computerised storage system
- storage boxes
- retrieval, usually within 24 hours
- comprehensive retention schedules based on current legal, administrative and financial requirements. A retention schedule lists the length of time that records should be retained for and how they should be disposed of.
- guaranteed confidential destruction of expired records
- appraisal of time-expired records to identify which records are of historic interest and should be moved to an archive to be preserved for the future.
Other services we provide
- Staff training – Introduction to Records Management is for organisations wishing to implement records management within their organisation. Records Management: The Key to Freedom of Information Compliance is a presentation and training session on the different components of records management needed in order to meet the criteria of the FOI Act. An Introduction to the Record Centre is a free two hour session for staff and organisations using the records management service for the first time.
- Consultancy service – a full report on the improvements you should make to ensure effective records management.
To find out more, contact us about records management.
The importance of records management
From case files to cheque book stubs, organisations produce large numbers of records and information every day. Records management ensures that this information is properly organised, easily retrievable and confidentially destroyed or moved to an archive when it is no longer needed.
Good records management will ensure:
- compliance with current legislation and standards on record keeping, including the Freedom of Information Act 2000
- increased business efficiencies through the effective management of all records, the freeing up of valuable office space and the reduction in duplicate record keeping
- fast retrieval of your documents when they are needed
- financial savings as you move non-current documents to off-site storage in low cost accommodation
- regular destruction of records when they are no longer needed, which ensures that you only pay for the storage you need
- cost-effective alternative to micro formatting
- your records are safe from floods, fire or other accidents.
