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Contents

Information Governance Steering Group Terms of Reference

Purpose

Composition

Meetings

Remit

Management and Accountability

Authority

Performance of the IG Steering Group

Information Governance Steering GroupTerms of Reference

Purpose

The Information Governance Steering Group is a standing committee accountable to the (insert organisation name) Board. Its purpose is to support and drive the broader information governance agenda and to provide the Board with the assurance that effective information governance best practice mechanisms are in place within the organisation.

Composition

1.1Membership

The members of this group shall be appointed and reviewed annually by the Board. The members comprise of the Information Governance Lead/support team, the Caldicott Guardian/support function representatives, a Freedom of Information Lead, a Data Protection Officer/Lead, an Information Security Officer/Lead, a Health Records Manager and a Data Quality Manager(amend list as appropriate to organisation).

The current membership list can be found in appendix 1. (Appendix 1 - to be created by organisation)

1.2The Chair

The Chair shall be appointed by the Board in an official meeting. The Chair has been selected due to their position as a member of the organisation’s Board, their chairing skills and independent IG interest in the organisation. The current Chair may be found on the membership list attached in appendix 1.(Appendix 1 - to be created by organisation)

1.3Attendance

All members of this steering group are required to attend meetings set or send representation in their absence for continuity purposes. If a representative from any IG areas is unable to attend then apologies are expected prior to the meetings. The Information Governance agenda leads provide brief progress reports on their specific areas of work and bring pieces of work to the Group for discussion and approval. Organisation IG related Policies and Procedures are approved by the Group and where necessary also approved at Board or delegated sub-group level.

Meetings

2.1Frequency

The IG Steering Group will meet at least quarterly(insert more frequent meetings, eg monthly dependent on how the Group’s actions are implemented)to fulfil its remit and reports to the Board at least once in each financial year (insert more frequent reporting, eg as a regular quarterly Board agenda item). The overarching reports are usual taken to the Board by the Caldicott Guardian or Chair.

2.2Agenda and Papers

The agenda comprises of a series of reports or briefings from each of the IG agenda leads containing updates on progress with work programmes and (list any other agenda items). The meeting agenda and supporting papers will be distributed at least (insert timescale eg five working days)in advance of the meetings to allow time for members’ due consideration of issues. All papers will clearly state the agenda reference, the author and the purpose of the paper, together with the action to be taken.

2.3Minutes

Formal minutes will be kept of the proceedings and submitted for approval at the next IG Steering Group meeting, prior to submission to the Board. Recognising the issue of relative timing and scheduling of meetings, minutes of the IG Steering Group may be presented in draft form to the next available Board meeting. The draft minutes will be cleared by the Chair of the group and a nominated Lead prior to submission to the Board.

2.4Other

In order to fulfil its remit, the IG Steering Group may obtain any professional advice it requires and invite, if necessary, external experts and relevant staff representatives to attend meetings.

Remit

Key responsibilities of the Information Governance Steering Group:

3.1To ensure that an appropriate comprehensive Information Governance framework and systems are in place throughout the organisation in line with national standards.

3.2To inform the review of the Organisation’s management and accountability arrangements for Information Governance.

3.3To develop an IG policy and associated IG implementation strategy and/or maintain the currency of the policy.

3.4To prepare the annual Information Governance assessment for sign off by the Board.

3.5To develop the Organisation’s Information Governance work programme.

3.6To ensure that the Organisation’s approach to information handling is communicated to all staff and made available to the public

3.7To coordinate the activities of staff given data protection, confidentiality, security, information quality, records management and Freedom of Information responsibilities.

3.8To offer support, advice and guidance to the Caldicott Function and Data Protection programme within the Organisation.

3.9To monitor the Organisation’s information handling activities to ensure compliance with law and guidance

3.10To ensure that training made available by the Organisation is taken up by staff as necessary to support their role.

3.11To provide a focal point for the resolution and/or discussion of Information Governance issues.

Management and Accountability

The (insert name) Board has an IG Lead, Caldicott Guardian and IM&T Director(insert roles in place in the organisation). These representatives report back to the Board on the IG Steering Group’s progress and agenda items which may need Board level approval. (The accountability route may go through clinical governance committees and then to the Board. The organisation must ensure that IG is on the Board’s agenda) The Chief Executive has overall accountability for ensuring that the organisation operates in accordance with the law with the support of his/her subordinates.

Authority

The IG Steering Group is authorised by the Board to investigate any activity within its terms of reference. It is authorised to seek any information it requires from any employee and all employees are directed to co-operate with any request made by the Group.

TheIG Steering Group is also authorised to implement any activity which is in line with the terms of reference, as part of the IG work programme, which shall be signed off by the Board.

Performance of the IG Steering Group

The Steering Group shall review its own performance, effectiveness, including its running costs, and terms of reference on an annual basis. (Or insert other performance review bodies, eg reviewed by Risk Management Group).

The IG Steering Group shall submit an annual IG Toolkit report to the Board for sign off, prior to formal publication of the assessment, which is required before or on 31 March each year.