Working with electronic case files - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

I'm not sure that I can help you with your particular problem, but you may be able to help me. Winchester City Council are currently implementing a new EDRM system which is to be used by the whole council. The Planning service have had a DMS for some years and will have to move all our electronic files across to the new system. As part of this excercise we are being asked to look at what documents do we really need to keep electronically. We have found it very difficult to find a 'standard' for document retention within planning, particularly for internal use - what parameters are use using for the retention of your electronic files?

Philippa The Planning Officers Society and Trevor Roberts Associates are working with a group of 16 local authorities to produce a series of Practice Guidance Notes on various issues relating to development control/management. We are currently working on one for validation, which includes a brief look at EDRM. Although not directly applicable to your situation the note may be of some assistance as it is likely to recommend that as a minimum the following should be scanned if paper records are to be destroyed: decision notice, officer’s report; any specified background papers; application forms and drawings/supporting information, any legal agreement, any appeal decisions and any post decision submissions/correspondence relating to conditions. Once the Note is finalised it will be freely available along with the others on both the POS and TRA websites.

Stewart Many thanks for your response - most helpful. Is there a time frame for the production of this Note as we are working to very tight deadlines at the moment? Is there anyone I could contact who could tell me when this Note will be finalised, or let me see a draft copy?

In Poole we scan everything for new applications and this will be stored electronically forever. The working paper file is destroyed in its entiriety immediately upon the decision notice being issued . The only problem that this raises is we have reprint all documents for the Appeal Inspector if required. If we know there will be an appeal at decision time then the file may be kept purely to save time. The other files we keep are the very large major applications where there are huge volumes of paper . As far as scanning historic applications we are scanning entire file for applications back to 2000 with the exception of neighbour consult letters. For files pre 2000 we are only keeping app forms, decision notices, decision plan unless it is a known contentious site when we may scan appeals, planning history etc but this will be in the minority. This has cut down considerably on the amount of backscanning required. Moving forward we I have a vision for working fully electronic but we need to improve our back office system, provide larger monitors, continue with cultural changes etc.

Something to watch for if you run a dual paper and electronic process, is that if it turns into a legal fight, the other side get to do discovery. If the 2 processes (paper and electronic) are not in sync, the barrister can then start poking holes in the credibility of your documentary evidence by asking which is the original document, and why should we believe that over your other documents, my clients documents, etc. It is normally less risky to run the EDMS as the primary original, and just keep a site folder, with warning/reminders to update the electronic files upon return to the office. In terms of retention, nothing changes just because you are now electronic. All the documents you where suppose to keep when it was a paper based process, you should keep electronically. (your retention policy should be written by a qualified planning officer, with support from legal services when in doubt). DO NOT let your IT department write the retention policy, if they are any good they'll refuse anyway. Given how cheap (and getting cheaper) disk space is, you may wish to hang on to electronic documents longer than the "must be kept until" date, for historical analisys and access, factoring in departmental and public benefits to the decision. When looking at running the process with electronic documents, you should review BSI BIP0008:2004 (which covers evidential weight of electronic documents), and the Civil Evidence Act 1990 (S8 & S9 are the key parts, beware that most so called EDMS's barely scrape into the rules on S8, and I have yet to see one in a council that get anywhere close to S9)

With regard to the size, number, etc. of monitors for doing planning on EDMS, they correct answer is one size does not fit all. My personal recommendation is that you look at the following; Clerical Support Staff (who use the planning system, and read letters) twin 19"TFT's one for the planning system, one for the A4 letters they normally work with (a 19" TFT is A4 High, so a 1:1 display) Officers (who use the planning system and want to examine A0 plans) Twin 21" TFTs as a minimum, this allows you to span an A0 across the 42" of the monitors. The monitors should be identical (asymmetric monitors have caused problems for some staff) Use TFTs, they are getting cheaper, they use less electricity, and are hence cooler, especially for those without air con in the office. They also take less desk space. With complex plans it is still difficult for some officers to assemble the picture in their head from screen, and hence they pull the paper site folders. (I have no experience of whether moving to 3 monitors would help in this case, or whether it is a "getting use" to it issue that is self resolving as the 1 year of electronic experience starts to catch up with the 10 years+ of paper experience most planning officers have) A side effect of this, is that writing report speeds up, as you spend less time flicking between reference materials held on the computer. Most important of all, go and have a chat with your IT support people, and mock up a working environment, and try out the different combinations of set up, to see which is the best match for you, and the EDMS system that you are using.

Here at Stroud we only have an electronic copy of "the file". Case officers however have access to anything over A3 in size. Yes we have invested in twin (17") monitors which are invaluable. The case officer never gets the paper copies of neighbour letters or other correspondence, instead they get email alerts of thier arrival and scanning. This way we can avoid the issues of twin tracking. We also have a policy of keeping the officer file thin, reducing scanning at the end of a project. We took the decision to go this way when we "joined" the custommer services team and our reception desk was shut. We foresaw the ombudsmans complaints if the "upstairs" file did not match the web file, or the public copy on reception. Now there is only one file. Please don't under estimate the effect of a comprehensive change strategy. This would not have been implemented as well as it was without clear communication to the whole team as to why we were doing it... and how it would benefit THEM... Good luck

We will shortly be undetaking a survey of local authorities use of wide screen and dual monitors in relation to e-planning before deciding on a replacement strategy. The survey will include potentail printing savings, and officer satisfaction/ease of working. If you use wide screen or dual monitors in your planning service and you would be happy to take part in teh survey, please could you e-mail Adam Timlett (atimlett@wandsworth.gov.uk). Thanks.