Medical Research Council - Document marking policy

MRC Document marking policy

The Medical Research Council now uses the Government Protective Marking scheme on all documents and emails, when appropriate, to provide a common baseline for safeguarding information. This information is for guidance only.

Handling policy
Marking scheme
Handling protectively marked documents

Handling policy

Materials marked PROTECT and RESTRICTED should be treated as follows. For more details see Tables 3 and 4.

Handle, use and transmit with care
Take basic precautions against accidental compromise, opportunist or deliberate attack
Dispose of sensibly by destroying in a manner to make reconstruction unlikely

The procedure should not stop information from being shared; it is just to alert the recipient to the amount of damage that might be caused if it fell into the wrong hands.

There is no agreed UK system for marking sensitive material, although terms such as PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL are in common use, particularly in relation to personal information.

Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation can differ significantly internationally; therefore the ‘UK’ prefix must be used when sending protectively marked material abroad.

Marking scheme

The following table sets out the level of protection associated with various levels of impact. All markings above RESTRICTED require some form of Security Clearance.

Table 1 Markings and Impact Levels

Impact on MRC	Impact on Individuals	Protective Marking
Extensive impact to MRC	Considerable distress	RESTRICTED
Large impact	Much distress	PROTECT (+ descriptor)
Minor Impact	Minor distress	PROTECT (+ descriptor)
No impact	No distress (e.g. public domain information)	NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED (optional)

PROTECT must always be accompanied by a descriptor:

Table 2 Summary of PROTECT descriptors

PERSONAL	Intended only for the addressee e.g. payslip
PRIVATE	Sensitive information related to individuals or organisations – access limited appropriately; e.g. references for ‘scientists’
POLICY	Sensitive information related to the development of Government or MRC policy, once policy applied, protective marking must be removed
STAFF	Personal confidences entrusted by staff to management e.g. Staff related references from SSC
MGMT	Concerning policy and planning affecting the interests of groups of employees
COMRC	Related to commercial undertakings, processes or affairs e.g. tenders or contracts
CONTRACTS	Tenders under consideration and the terms of tenders accepted
INVESTI	Investigations into disciplinary or criminal matters
REGULAT	Material which has come into the possession of government departments or the MRC in the course of carrying out their statutory regulatory duties
RESEARCH	Material relating directly to research linked to sensitive subjects, e.g. animal issues

Handling protectively marked documents

Table 3 Handling protectively marked document

	PROTECT
Impact	The compromise of assets marked PROTECT would be likely to: Cause distress to individuals Breach proper undertakings to maintain the confidence of information provided by third parties Breach statutory or mandatory restrictions on the disclosure of information
Marking	Include in bold capitals, same size as body text, centre top and bottom of each page, with additional 'descriptor'.
Storage of paper records	Physically protect by one barrier within a secure building, e.g. a locked container.
Disposal of papers	Place in a designated secure disposal facilities.
Disposal/re-use of magnetic media	Delete contents and re-use within organisation only. Should be destroyed by IT security if deemed appropriate.
Internal distribution	To recipient by email, sealed envelope through internal post, or deliver by hand. Protective marking shown.
Discussion by telephone	Confirm who you are talking to and keep details to a minimum.
Email	Confirm the email address and keep sensitive detail to a minimum.
Photocopying	Permitted but only make as many copies as you need and control their circulation.
External Distribution	By post or courier in a sealed envelope. Show protective marking on the envelope

Table 4 Handling protectively marked document

	RESTRICTED
Impact	The compromise of assets marked RESTRICTED would be likely to: impede the effective development or operation of government or MRC policies undermine the proper management of the public sector or the MRC and its operations be prejudicial to investigation, assist in commissioning of crime, disadvantageous to government in policy or commercial negotiation
Marking	Include in bold capitals, same size as body text, centre top and bottom of each page
Storage of paper records	Physically protect by one barrier within a secure building, e.g. a locked container.
Disposal of papers	Place in a designated secure disposal facilities.
Disposal/re-use of magnetic media	Delete contents and re-use within organisation only. Media must be marked and treated as RESTRICTED. CD/DVD/floppy disks must be securely destroyed. System data and hard drives require specialist disposal. Contact local Information Security team
Internal distribution	To recipient by sealed envelope delivered by hand with protective marking shown
Discussion by telephone	In a private room with door shut. Confirm who you are talking to and keep details to a minimum.
Email	Email can only be sent if encrypted or via MRC secure mail system. Check that information is correctly marked – re-mark to PROTECT with descriptor if appropriate.
Photocopying	Permitted but only make as many copies as you need and control their circulation.
External Distribution	By post or courier, in a sealed envelope. Do not show protective marking on the envelope, internal envelope to have protective marking

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