The impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on recordkeeping in the Scottish public sector [1]
By Gillian Mapstone
A
s the world was turned upside down in spring 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic saw transformational changes in workplaces across the world, with the move to remote home working for all but essential key workers. Little did we anticipate that, over a year later, this disruption would still be in place for many, and that the ‘temporary crisis’ response changes to working cultures would become the new way of working. During the spring and autumn of 2020, the National Records of Scotland (NRS) conducted two pulse surveys, to measure and understand the disruption and the impact of the pandemic on the recordkeeping community in Scotland. Alongside a discussion webinar event in the summer, the surveys provided valuable insight and metrics about the initial impact of the pandemic, and the longer-term implications for the sector.[2]
Recordkeeping in Scotland The Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011[3] (PRSA) requires all scheduled public authorities in Scotland to prepare a records management plan (RMP), setting out proper arrangements for the management of the authority’s public records; submit this plan to the Keeper of the Records of Scotland for agreement; and ensure the implementation of the agreed plan.[4] Since its enactment in 2013, the PRSA implementation team at the NRS has assessed and approved over 260 RMPs, which evidence the policies and procedures for the creation, security, management and preservation of public records. The PRSA stakeholder community includes recordkeeping professionals representing the breadth of the Scottish public sector, including health authorities; policing and justice organisations; the culture, leisure and tourism sectors; and both central and local government.[5]
1. This report benefited from the contribution of colleagues across the NRS. With grateful thanks to Garth Stewart and Lynn Bruce from our Digital Records Team; Laura Gould, Archive Depositor Liaison Branch; and Hugh Hagan and Andrea Wells, The Public Records Scotland Act Implementation Team. 2. The surveys were sent directly to the PRSA key contacts, the named individuals with operational responsibility for the implementation of the RMP in a named Scottish Public Authority, covered by Schedule 1 of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011. Additionally, members of the PRSA Knowledge Hub forum, which includes independent records management consultants, were invited to participate. NRS Impact of COVID-19 on Recordkeeping in Scotland Survey Spring, April 2020, 71 responses; NRS Impact of COVID-19 on Recordkeeping in Scotland Survey Autumn, October 2020, 55 responses. The NRS and the Scottish Council on Archives (SCA) hosted a webinar to further explore the issues raised in the spring survey around capturing records of enduring value, and data from this event have also been used throughout this article. Documenting COVID-19 – Capturing History as It Happens Webinar, 24 August 2020. 46 people attended the webinar. 3 .<www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/record-keeping/public-records-act/PublicRecordsScotlandActPublished.pdf>. 4. Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011, s1 (1). 5. <https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/record-keeping/public-records-act/PublicRecordsScotlandActPublished.pdf> Schedule (Introduced by Section 2 (1)). INFORMATION AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT SOCIETY 19
