Retention schedule

Each entry in the retention and disposal schedule details the specific legislation, regulations, guidelines or codes of practice that stipulate or recommend how long records must be kept before they are disposed of. Where no such legislation or guidance exists, SCC Directorates have been consulted to determine the retention requirements that best suit each business activity.

Some overarching legislation requires that records be kept for a certain amount of time and applies to all Directorates and sections of the County Council. These include:

GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018

Principle 5 states that:

Personal data shall be kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed

The Freedom of Information Act 2000

The Act requires us to make information available to the public unless specific exemption(s) apply. The Code of Practice issued under 46 of the Act sets out rules on how we should manage records and information, including responsibilities on all staff to implement records retention and disposal schedules.

The Local Government Act 2000

S.22 requires that written records of a local authority executive, or a committee of such an executive are to be made available to the public.