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How long we keep information

Answer:

Head of information governance

The head of information governance is responsible for:

  • formally approving our retention and disposal policy
     
  • the development and maintenance of retention and disposal schedules detailing specific records retention and disposal policies
     
  • authorising divergence from records retention and disposal policy contained in the retention schedules for legitimate reasons

Designated officers and senior managers

Designated officers and senior managers are responsible for:

  • assigning responsibilities for records management, retention and disposal
     
  • establishing procedures for the management, retention and disposal of records in all media and formats and the system(s) in which records are held
     
  • ensuring ICT equipment and storage media are disposed of securely ensuring all records, data and information are removed in such a way that it is not recoverable

Business unit managers and team leaders

Business unit managers and team leaders are responsible for ensuring:

  • record retention policies are implemented in their unit or team
     
  • record keeping systems and arrangement of records enable identification of records due for disposal
     
  • written procedures are in place for records management, retention and disposal
     
  • records due for disposal are routinely identified and reviewed to ensure they are no longer required
     
  • divergence from records retention and disposal policy is authorised
     
  • the Information Governance Unit is notified of changes affecting records retention and disposal
     
  • staff are aware of policies to retain and dispose of records
      
  • staff dispose of records only in accordance with policies set out in our retention schedules
     
  • records are disposed of appropriately considering their sensitivity, security classification and the media and format(s) in which they are held in line
     
  • ICT equipment and storage media are disposed of securely ensuring all records, data and information are removed in such a way that it is not recoverable
     
  • records of potential historic interest or research value are identified and transferred with agreement to our archive service
     
  • evidence of the disposal process is kept

All staff

All staff are responsible for:

  • following procedures and guidance for managing, retaining and disposing of records
     
  • only disposing of records in accordance with records retention and disposal policies contained in our retention schedules (if authorised to do so)
     
  • ensuring that any proposed divergence from records retention and disposal policies is authorised
Answer:

How long we keep information before it is disposed of varies depending on the type of information, legal requirements and business need. Details are set out in our records retention schedules.

Having a retention and disposal policy and retention and disposal schedules are requirements of the Lord Chancellor's code of practice on the management of records issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Retention and disposal policy

Our records retention and disposal policy sets out requirements and responsibilities for managing records retention and disposal.

We also produce separate guidance for staff about the responsibilities of the policy.

Retention schedules

Our record retention schedules list retention and disposal policies specifying how long records must be kept and details disposal action. They:

  • detail retention and disposal policies for records supporting each business function, activity and process
     
  • describe and define business functions, activities and processes that records support
     
  • define the retention trigger/closure procedure event - event triggering the start of the retention period and record closure procedure
     
  • specify the retention period - the period of time records needs to be kept after the retention trigger event has been reached
     
  • specify disposal action - action e.g. destroy or transfer to be carried out following review at the end of the retention period
     
  • identified the authority - legal, regulatory or business reasons that records are created and kept.

This is illustrated in our guide to understanding retention schedules:

Answer:

We are required by the Lord Chancellor's code of practice on the management of records issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to have and to implement a records retention and disposal schedule.

This document sets out details about all the records created and kept by us, or our commissioned partners, in such a way that decisions can be made about identifying and disposing of them on a routine and timely basis.

This retention and disposal schedule has been produced in consultation with departments primarily responsible for the business activities and key stakeholders in the processes to establish the legal and regulatory requirements and business needs on which record retention and disposal polices are based.

 

 

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