Retention of Records

1. Retention of Records

The case record must be kept secure, and any necessary steps taken to ensure that information contained in it is treated as confidential, subject only to statutory rights of access or Court orders granting access.

Data Protection legislation applies to both paper/manual and electronic records.

The retention of a child's record will depend upon the nature of involvement of the local authority with the child and family:

Click here to view Children's Services - Retention of Records.

Important Note: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has said that:

It is now very unlikely that the Chair and Panel will request access to documents relevant to the Inquiry's Terms of Reference.

Consequently, organisations can plan for destruction or deletion of records that have been retained for the purposes of the Inquiry, which can resume at the end of the Inquiry's Judicial Review period, currently set for 20th January 2023. However, please consider the following when drawing up disposal plans:

  1. Whether any of the records you have retained are likely to be of significant interest to victims and survivors and that your retention schedules meet their needs;
  2. The obligation to retain records for other inquiries remains.

Further information about the Inquiry's moratorium on the destruction of records can be found on the Inquiry's website.