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Management and administration retention schedule

Version 4.2, adopted June 2021, expires end May 2022.


A pdf version of these retention guidelines, including full version history, is held in the EDRM Records Management guidance notes folder.

See an explanation of the 6+ Rule and all other standard disposition codes.

Preparing business

MA 2.1.1: Preparing business for strategic consideration and making a record of discussion, debate and resolution

Disposition: Permanent. Offer to Derbyshire Record Office

Example(s):

  • Minutes of Corporate Management Team, Corporate Governance Group, Information Governance Group

Rationale: Common Practice

MA 2.1.2: Preparing business for cross-departmental consideration and making a record of discussion, debate, and resolution

Disposition: Destroy 3 years from last amendment

Example(s):

  • Management minutes
  • Action plans

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.1.3: Preparing business for unit / team consideration and making a record of discussion, debate and resolution

Includes minutes of any meeting not specifically governed elsewhere in the retention schedules. (For example: excludes health and safety meeting minutes - see MA 2.1.5)

Do not destroy minutes created by the Children's Services department until IICSA has given permission.

Excludes Health and Safety meeting minutes (see 2.1.5)

In all other cases:

Disposition: Destroy 3 years from last amendment

Example(s):

  • Team meeting minutes

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.1.4: Providing support for chief officers

Disposition: Review 6 years from closure

Example(s):

  • Director correspondence

Rationale: Common Practice

MA 2.1.5: Deciding matters of health and safety within a unit / team and making a record of discussion, debate and resolution

Disposition: Destroy 7 years from last amendment

Example(s):

  • Health and safety meeting minutes

Rationale: Health and Safety at Work etc Act Section 2(3)

MA 2.1.6: Fulfilling a statutory obligation to engage with the public to discuss matters of community interest, and making a record of discussion, debate and resolution

Disposition: Destroy 10 years from last amendment

If another retention period is required (e.g. by legislation), consult the Corporate Records Manager to ensure that this period is adequately reflected in the council’s retention schedules. If the record reflects activities that have resulted in significant changes to council policy or strategy, Offer to Derbyshire Record Office – see MA 2.3.2.

Example(s):

  • Public meeting minutes

Rationale: Business requirement

MA 2.1.7: The non-statutory process of engaging with the public to discuss matters of community interest, and making a record of discussion, debate and resolution

Disposition: Review 10 years from last amendment then destroy or offer to Derbyshire Record Office if of enduring historic interest

Example(s):

  • Black and Minority Ethnic Forum meeting minutes

Rationale: Business need

MA 2.1.8: Deciding matters of staff welfare and making a record of discussion, debate and resolution

Disposition: Review 7 years from last amendment then destroy or offer to Derbyshire Record Office if of enduring historic interest

Example(s):

  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) employees group meeting minutes

Rationale: Business need

MA 2.1.9: Deciding matters in partnership with external bodies, where Derbyshire County Council bears the duty of making a record of discussion, debate and resolution

Disposition: Destroy 10 years from last amendment

Example(s):

  • Derbyshire Partnership Forum meeting minutes and associated records

Rationale: Business need

If partnership agreement requires another retention period, consult the Corporate Records Manager to ensure that this period is adequately reflected in the council’s retention schedules. For Information sharing agreements, see MA 2.4.4

MA 2.1.10: Deciding matters in partnership with external bodies, where a partner organisation bears the duty of making a record of discussion, debate and resolution

Disposition: Destroy 3 years from last amendment

Example(s):

  • Partnership meeting minutes

Rationale: Business need

MA 2.1.11: Assessing and registering corporately-owned or high-level departmental risks, and making a record of actions taken to manage them

Disposition: Permanent. Offer to Derbyshire Record Office when no longer current

Example(s):

  • Information asset registers
  • Risk assessments
  • Risk treatment plans

Rationale: Business need

For risks managed by a specific service, section or project team, retain in line with associated records, for example, if for risks managed as part of a significant organisational project, see MA 2.3.7

Statutory returns

MA 2.2.1: Preparing information to be passed onto central government as part of statutory requirements

Disposition: Destroy 7 years from last amendment

Example(s):

  • Reports to central government

Rationale: Common practice

Policy, procedures, strategy and structure

MA 2.3.1: Number not used

MA 2.3.2: Activities that develop policies, procedures, strategies and structures

Disposition: Permanent. Offer to Derbyshire Record Office

Example(s):

Policy

  • Organisational charts
  • Development plans

Rationale: Common practice

Where multiple versions of policies and procedures are available, select significant revisions, illustrative of the evolution and implementation of council policy.

MA 2.3.3: Monitoring and reviewing strategic plans, policies, or procedures to assess their compliance with guidelines

Disposition: Destroy 6 years from end of administrative use

Example(s):

  • Reports of working groups

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.3.4: Consulting the public and staff in the development of significant policies

Disposition: Destroy 6 years from end of administrative use

Example(s):

  • Surveys

Rationale: Common practice

See also Policy and Research, POL 2.1

MA 2.3.5: Consulting the public and staff in the development of minor policies

Disposition: Destroy 1 year from end of administrative use

Example(s):

  • Questionnaires

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.3.6: Undertaking investigations into the redesign of services

Disposition: Destroy 6 years from closure of record

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.3.7: Managing significant organisational projects

Disposition: Destroy 6 years from end of project

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.3.8: Managing organisational accreditations

Disposition: 6 years from end of accreditation

Example(s):

  • Monitoring
  • Compliance checks

Rationale: Common practice

Information management

MA 2.4.1: The process that records the disposal of records

Disposition: Destroy 12 years from last action

Example(s):

  • Disposal certificates

Rationale: Common Practice

MA 2.4.2: The process that records routine access to information requests

Disposition: Destroy 3 years from closure

An access to information file is closed when legal requirements are met, e.g. full reply sent

Example(s):

  • Requests
  • Replies

Rationale: Common practice

Within Children's Services, data subject access requests (SARs) are treated as an integral part of the individual's case file. See the Children's Services retention schedule (RS/C/CHILD/2).

MA 2.4.3: Number not used

MA 2.4.4: Managing privacy within systems

Disposition: Destroy 7 years from cessation of the system or process

Example(s):

  • Privacy impact assessments
  • Privacy notices
  • Information sharing agreements (triggered by cessation of system or process)
  • Photograph consent forms (public events etc., triggered by end of event)

Rationale: Limitation Act, 1980

MA 2.4.5: Routine administration of records retention

Disposition: Destroy 7 years from closure

Example(s):

  • Records management enquiries and replies
  • Draft retention schedules

Rationale: Limitation Act, 1980

MA 2.4.6: Finalising records retention policy

Disposition: Permanent. Offer to Derbyshire Record Office.

Example(s):

  • Approved retention schedules

Rationale: Common practice (sampling advisable)

MA 2.4.7: The process that handles data in transit to a council-approved record keeping system, or transit to final deletion

Destroy immediately after transfer of information.

Triggered by:

  • closure of hard copy transient record (for example notebook, signing-in sheet)
  • transfer of information / file into a case management system
  • transfer of file into electronic document / record management system
  • transfer of file into shared network drive
  • alteration of a web page
  • final removal of a web page
  • expiry of an automated waiting period imposed for disaster recovery, business continuity or data security reasons

Examples of automated waiting periods include:

  • 2-week rolling destruction programme on datasets shared by external agencies in the interests of community safety. Subjects include: modern slavery, child sexual exploitation, organised crime, prevention of terrorism.
  • 30-day rolling destruction programme on telephone call recordings handled in a contact centre (telephone recordings may also be retained for training and quality control purposes - see Contact Centre retention schedule).
  • 30-day rolling destruction programme on audio recordings of meetings produced to allow for verbatim transcription.
  • 60 day rolling deletion of web content not modified within previous 12 months
  • 30-day rolling destruction of deleted web content in the contents management system (CMS)
  • 4-month destruction on domestic abuse notifications made to Children's Services.
  • 6-month rolling destruction programme on operational data and system backups used in maintenance of ICT infrastructure.
  • 6-month rolling destruction programme on user-deleted documents in the Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRM) system.
  • 6-month rolling destruction programme on the personal workspaces of former employees, temporarily held in the EDRM system for review by line managers.
  • 1 year manual destruction of working documents to do with emergency planning, after their transfer to a final record.
  • 2-month rolling destruction of interface files used in personnel record keeping, where the source and target systems hold a full record in accordance with the HR retention schedule
  • 2-month rolling destruction of interface files used in financial record keeping (excluding Adult Care and Fostering), where the source and target systems hold a full record in accordance with the finance retention schedule
  • 18-month rolling destruction of interface files used in financial record keeping (Adult Care and Fostering), where the target system holds a full record in accordance with the finance retention schedule

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.4.8: Initiating, authorising and finalising changes to core finance, procurement and human resources records

Disposal: Destroy 6 years from end of financial year

Examples:

  • SAP workflow

Rationale: Limitation Act 1980

Enquiries, complaints and communications

MA 2.5.1: The management in summary form of enquiries and complaints

Disposition: Permanent. Offer to Derbyshire Record Office

Example(s):

  • Register of comments (see also MA 2.5.3)

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.5.2: The management of enquiries, submissions and complaints which result in significant changes to policy or procedures

Disposition: Permanent. Offer to Derbyshire Record Office.

Example(s):

  • Letters of complaint (if resulting in major policy changes)

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.5.3: The management of enquiries, submissions, compliments and complaints which do not result in significant changes to policy or procedures

Disposition: Destroy 6 years from resolution of complaints / response

Example(s):

  • Letters of complaint (not resulting in major policy changes)

Rationale: Common Practice

Excludes routine communications of very minor significance (destroy on closure - see 2.4.7)

MA 2.5.4: The management of detailed responses to council actions, policy or procedures

Disposition: Destroy 6 years from conclusion of administrative use

Example(s):

  • Reports
  • Correspondence

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.5.5: Issuing routine communications to council staff and clients

Disposition: Review 7 years from closure then destroy or offer to Derbyshire Record Office if of enduring historic interest

Example(s):

  • Staff newsletters, bulletins, magazines

Rationale: Common practice

Quality and performance management

MA 2.6.1: Monitoring or reviewing the quality, efficiency, or performance of services

Disposition: Destroy 6 years from closure of record (unless funding body requires longer retention)

Example(s):

  • Customer satisfaction survey results

Rationale: Common practice, Local Authority Social Services Complaints (England) Regulations 2006

MA 2.6.2: Assessing / analysing the quality, efficiency or performance of services / activities

Disposition: Destroy 2 years from closure of record

Example(s):

  • CIPFA stats

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.7.1: Number not used

Formerly: The process of editorial preparation and press release (RS/C/PR/1/1, 2/1, 2/3, 3/1)

MA 2.7.2: Number not used

Formerly: The published work of the service (PR 2.2)

MA 2.7.3: Number not used

Formerly: The process of liaising with the community (MA 2.1.6 and 2.1.7)

MA 2.7.4: Number not used

Formerly: The process of developing council branding (PR 2.2)

MA 2.7.5: Number not used

Formerly: The process of using council branding for routine purposes (obsolete)

MA 2.8.1: Number not used

Formerly: The process of interaction with the media (PR 1.2)

MA 2.9.1: Number not used

Formerly: The process of advertising and media buying (see FIN 2.02)

Civic and royal events

MA 2.10.1: Recording ceremonial events and civic occasions

Disposition: Permanent. Offer to Derbyshire Record Office

Example(s):

  • Photographs of royal visits
  • Press cuttings

Rationale: Common practice

MA 2.10.2: Organising a ceremonial event or civic occasion

Disposition: Destroy 7 years from conclusion of administrative use

Example(s):

  • Guest list for attending royal openings

Rationale: Common practice