UK Ministry of Defence,
In response to HM Coroner for Swindon and Wiltshire's ruling on MOD's information management processes following his inquest into the crash of a Hercules aircraft in Iraq in 2005, MOD has asked The National Archives to undertake a targeted independent review of information management in the department.
The review will take place this month and the subsequent report and MOD's response will be published on The National Archives' website.
Sir Bill Jeffrey, MOD Permanent Secretary, and Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of the Defence Staff, have made the following statement about the review:
“We are personally committed to making sure that MOD creates, manages and secures the information it needs to fulfil its corporate obligations. To show the strength of our commitment, both in the Ministry of Defence and to our stakeholders, we have asked The National Archives to begin a process of assessing our knowledge, information and records management. The assessment report produced by The National Archives will be published, as will our action plan.
“Building capability in Information and Knowledge Management across Defence is vital, and we, together with our Defence Board colleagues, recognise the importance of leading the way on this.
We will make sure that:
– MOD's internal processes and training support effective information management.
– Information is recognised as a key asset for running the business of the Ministry of Defence and subject to the overriding importance of security in military endeavours; it is used to support effective data and information sharing and knowledge creation.
– Information is appropriately captured, managed, protected and preserved, and that information risks are controlled.
– MOD promotes access to and re-use of our information, and protects personal information.”
