Scottish Law Commission Records Management Plan

E07

Scottish Law Commission Records Management Plan

Record Retention and Disposal Schedule

Document control

Introduction

1.         This Record Retention and Disposal Schedule has been prepared in support of Elements 5 and 6 of the Commission’s Records Management Plan.

2.         Some records require to be retained for particular periods in accordance with statutory requirements, for example under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. 

3.         The Retention Schedule details the recommended retention periods for records created by the Commission, taking account of business need and legislative and statutory requirements.

Procedures

4.         Records which have reached the end of their recommended retention period are to be dealt with as follows:

a)            Destruction

Records should be destroyed in accordance with our records disposal policy (which includes this disposal schedule) when they are no longer needed for operational business use, have reached the end of their retention period, and are not of any archival value.

b)            Archive/review for archival value

Records which are considered to be of historical, legal or research value are to be archived.  Such records are preserved in a storeroom in the Commission’s offices pending agreement on transfer to the National Records of Scotland  permanent preservation. 

c)            Retention after the recommended period

Records which have come to the end of their recommended retention period may need to be retained for a longer period for operational purposes or legal reasons.

Freedom of Information and Data Protection

5.         A record might be the subject of a freedom of information or a data protection subject access request at a time when the record is being considered, or scheduled, for destruction.  A record of that kind will require to be retained for at least 40 days after a reply has been sent to the inquirer, and must not therefore be destroyed without agreement from the Chief Executive.

Retention periods and disposal arrangements

6.         The following table shows the retention and disposal arrangements which are in place. 

Disposal table