One west – Records Management
The Information Management Service (IMS) also known as ‘Records Management’ is the Councils’ File Management resource.
As a result of the Councils decision to close offices with a greater onus on working entirely flexibly, Records Management has a key role in ensuring teams and individuals can access the information they need.
We provide storage for physical files, collecting from and delivering to Council offices throughout the B&NES and we manage files through to the end of their lifecycle, destroying onsite when appropriate.
We also look after the Council’s confidential waste, working with SITA UK Ltd, providing and collecting confidential bins and bags.
If you are interested to know more you can read and explore the information and links below:
- We log and track all the files stored with us on our database, using a minimum of three items of descriptive information for each file in addition to its location, department and team of origin.
- Every file is assigned a category under the LGCS (Local Government Classification Scheme), a function-based classification system and each carries its own audit trail, forming a history of all deliveries and returns, and (when the times comes) its destruction.
- Files are stored in boxes, making it easier to locate them when they are requested by users. These boxes, which are of a uniform size designed to optimise the shelf space.
- We have capacity to store approximately 75,000 boxes across two sites but expect this to grow as we help accommodate changing working patterns.
- We have two main storage areas – the Haydon Records Centre, our main base, (with the capacity for nearly 65,000 boxes) and the Radstock Bunker, our high security area where we store highly confidential files.
- We can collect both boxes and files in large numbers from all Council offices. In past years we have cleared the files from Trimbridge House, Plymouth House, Palace Yard Mews, Keynsham Town Hall and Bath Street, and from former record stores including Riverside Archives, Haycombe Cemetery, Fairfield House and the Guildhall basement. Now we move on to support the Councils consolidation to one main base in Keynsham.
- We deliver circa 750 files a month using our Eco friendly 100% electric vans. We guarantee delivery within one working day of a request.
- For urgent files requested before 09.00 we can deliver within thirty minutes to Bath and one hour to Keysham.
- We can also ‘scan on demand’; providing, in pdf form, a specific document from a file which is then sent to the requestor by e-mail.
File destruction
- Each file is assigned a retention period based on its content and a ‘Review Date’ is calculated when it is logged on our database. These retention periods are in line with the most recent records management legislation.
- When a file reaches its designated Review Date we contact the team of origin to discuss the destruction of the file with them and, when approved, it is added to the fortnightly on-site shredding cycle together with other confidential waste.
Confidential waste
- Records Management handles the disposal of all the Council’s confidential waste.
- The confidential waste must be in either lockable bins or sealed waste bags, which we supply and collect from all Council offices.
- When the confidential waste is collected, it is taken back to the Records Centre at Haydon where it is stored securely until shredded on-site.
Post
- We deal with over half of the post within the Council. This involves scanning documents collected from the various boxes available for different services. A link is sent to the correct email address whether it be a service or specific Council officer.
- The originals from this are also stored by us for 6 months and then destroyed.
- If it is not possible to scan something for instance because of size we also operate a courier service to ensure delivery.
Library Service
- We operate the Councils Mobile Library Service ensuring books are available to the public. The service operates on a rota ensuring its presence in B&NES rural areas.
- Records Management is also the main distribution centre for ALL of the Library services book stock and carries out daily deliveries and collections of stock from the Main Libraries and the newly formed ‘Community Libraries’ – All stock is sorted, scanned and readied for our team to distribute within 24 hours throughout the county. We handled over 200,000 books last year.
Want to contact us?
Information Management Service
Units 1-4, Haydon Hill Industrial Estate, Radstock, BA3 3RD
records_management@bathnes.gov.uk
Tel: 01225 394100
