Records of all public authorities, including local government, in Northern Ireland are subject to the provisions of public records legislation. It is the responsibility of public authorities to draw up retention/disposal policies to ensure that records of historical or other research importance are identified and, ultimately, transferred to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) for permanent preservation. Under the Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on the Management of Records by Public Authorities, issued under Section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, it is the responsibility of local government authorities to develop policies for the creation, keeping, management and destruction of their records. This can include the development of a generic policy for the retention of local government documentation. PRONI would advise local government in the development of the policies and quality assure them.