A briefing note has been prepared by the Archivists of Scottish Local Authorities Working Group (ASLAWG), with the support of the Scottish Council on Archives (SCA), as part of the process to integrate learning from the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) into future record-keeping practices. Its audience is review bodies active in this area at that time as well as practitioners. Its purpose is to promote conversation on the topics raised and, most especially, to seek dialogue with the relevant review bodies.
The briefing note, which is also supported by the Information and Records Management Society (IRMS), and which is issued with the knowledge of the Keeper of the Records of Scotland Public Records (Scotland) Act (PRSA) Implementation Team, flags several key issues. These include appropriate creation and retention of records as well as making the records both accessible to the individuals concerned and understandable. A further key theme considered is ownership of these records – which can often be the only evidence available to a person for periods of their life story.