The FCDO file release process
The Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office's file review and release process.
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) files in paper format are added to the FCDO archive after they have finished active and regular use by FCDO business units, whether FCDO overseas posts or home departments. Today the FCDO mainly creates electronic files. However, the archive continues to receive paper files from both overseas posts and home departments.
The FCDO’s predecessor department, Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), had a long history of creating electronic records and in 1992 was one of the first UK government departments to do so in a systematic way. The Department for International Development (DFID) started creating electronic records in 2005.
Like all government departments, the FCDO is required to review its files for permanent preservation in line with the requirements of the Public Records Act. Further information about the public records system is available on The National Archives website.
Before FCDO files are publicly released they undergo a sensitivity review process. On average, the FCDO only withholds around 1% of information reviewed for release.
Whole files, whole documents or parts of documents may be closed or retained for a specified and approved period if the content is deemed to be sensitive. If only part of a document is withheld, sensitive content will be redacted (blanked out).
Information can be closed under Freedom of Information Act (FOI) exemptions. Information can only be closed if the FCDO makes an application for closure to the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives. Once the specified period of closure has expired, the FCDO must re-review the closed material and either release it or submit an application for a further period of closure. The exemptions which the FCDO uses most frequently for closure are Section 27 (international relations), Section 38 (Health and safety) and Section 40 (personal information). Closed information is held by The National Archives (TNA) securely and separately from open records. Under Section 66 of the Freedom of Information Act, TNA is responsible for answering Freedom of Information requests for closed material (in consultation with government departments). Further information on the legal basis and process for closing information is available on the Access to Public Records pages of the TNA website.
The FCDO may also retain information under Section 3(4) of the Public Records Act. Applications for retention are made to the Advisory Council. Retained information is held by the FCDO for a specified period and the FCDO is responsible for answering any Freedom of Information requests for retained material (please see the FCDO’s home page on gov.uk for details of how to make an FOI request to the FCDO). The commonest grounds for retention are described on the Access to Public Records pages of the TNA website. Records can be retained on grounds of sensitivity, for business use by the department or because of a backlog of records awaiting review.
Grounds for retention are described in the National Archives publication Retention. For instance, records can be retained on grounds of sensitivity, for business use by the department or because of a backlog of records awaiting review. In some instances, the Lord Chancellor gave his approval for the retention of specific categories of records of a similar character across government departments. This means departments are not required to apply to the Advisory Council on a case-by-case basis to retain qualifying records. An example is the Security and Intelligence Instrument which covers records relating to the intelligence services.
Updates to this page
Published 24 July 2013Last updated 25 January 2017 + show all updates
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The FCO file release process updated
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The FCO file release process updated
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Updated
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Updates to the FCO inventory.
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First published.