ECSH33026 - Notebooks

If you are making handwritten notes, you must use an official notebook issued by your Senior Officer.

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Notebooks are used by caseworkers to record everything that happens during the compliance check conducted face to face (FTF) or by desk-based intervention (DBI). They can also be used to record results of open-source checks. You must not keep information on businesses in any other notebook and can only have one notebook at a time.

When using notebooks in the course of your compliance checks you must follow the rigorous procedures around their use because you may need to access the original notes taken at the time of the compliance check, and be able to understand them some time after they were made, for example if they are needed for legal proceedings

Do not write out  the questions you want to ask in your notebook beforehand and leave a space for the response. This does not allow for a free-flowing interview and doesn’t record the flow of the interview if additional or follow-up questions are asked .

(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

The completion and management assurance of notebooks must be of a high standard.

(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

For guidance on reducing data security risks of notebooks, see CH204040 - How to do a compliance check: notebooks for compliance checks: reducing data security risks of notebooks

For guidance on recording the issue of notebooks, see CH204060 - How to do a compliance check: notebooks for compliance checks: recording the issue of notebooks

If you are using a tablet or laptop, follow the guidance at [ECSH 33027 Digital notebooks]