Creating a business case for a retention schedule 10 July 2014 local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Retention Schedule Disposal Schedule

A retention schedule describes the length of time each record will be retained the reason for its retention including statutory background, and the final disposition of the record which may include disposal or transfer to the organisational archive A retention schedule relates to all records regardless of the media in which they are stored The term retention schedule tends to be used where emphasis is placed on the importance of retaining documents local.gov.uk/lginformplus

A disposal schedule describes the point at which a record can be safely disposed of how the record should be disposed of (this will not usually involve transfer to the organisational archive). Disposal schedules tend to be used for record series which are statutorily governed and which can be disposed of without review local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Why bother with a retention schedule? Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on the management of records issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Section 12: Disposal of Records local.gov.uk/lginformplus

“Authorities should define how long they need to keep particular records, should dispose of them when they are no longer needed and should be able to explain why records are no longer held” local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Data Protection Act 1998 Principle Five “Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.” local.gov.uk/lginformplus Why bother with a retention schedule?

Should compliance be the only driver? local.gov.uk/lginformplus

SWOT Analysis Compliance should not be the only driver included in a business case A business case should look at all the benefits of creating a retention schedule Create the framework of your business case using SWOT analysis local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Strengths What are the strengths that having a retention schedule will bring Opportunities What additional opportunities will having a retention schedule provide Threats What threats might having a retention schedule bring Weaknesses What are the weaknesses in having a retention schedule SWOT ANALYSIS Does the Organisation Need a Retention Schedule? local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Strengths Compliance with the Lord Chancellor’s Code Compliance with the Data Protection Act Getting the best use of physical and electronic storage space Answering Freedom of Information requests more quickly Offering better service to citizens Opportunities Chance to rationalize physical and electronic storage Identification and disposal of information which has reached the end of its statutory retention Introducing automated retention to electronic systems Supporting different ways of working Threats Highlighting of groups of information which have been destroyed prematurely Identifying illegal or very risky business practice Weaknesses Costs of implementing a retention schedule Being held accountable to the provisions of the retention schedule Resource involved in keeping retention schedule up to date SWOT ANALYSIS local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Look for examples that you can use Decision notices ico.org.uk/enforcement/decision_notices local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Lest we forget local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Building the Business Case Use the SWOT analysis to build the proposal in your business case You need to understand the drivers which are most important to your organization: Remember it may not always be compliance Remember to show how having a retention schedule fits in with organisational objectives and business plans local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Building the Business Case Don’t use statistics or costings that you can’t back up –Costing the benefits of records management can be very difficult –The sign of good records management is an absence of difficulties – how do you cost this? Don’t use scare tactics when you know that the likelihood of it happening to your organisation are remote local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Summary Can your organisation afford not to have a retention schedule? Don’t just consider the benefits of compliance or the risks of non compliance but look at the other drivers as well Look for examples of good practice to use in the business case as well as examples of non compliance local.gov.uk/lginformplus

Summary It is difficult to put a cost on good records management. You may have to use: The costs saved in storage The savings made when staff can find the information they want immediately The more effective use that staff can make of their time The savings which can be made in answering FoI requests in a timely manner The costs of non compliance are also difficult to quantify. Avoid using scare tactics you can’t evidence. local.gov.uk/lginformplus