This schedule gives standard retention periods for common Council records. The Council should keep enough information to evidence its decisions, meet statutory and audit duties, protect legal rights, run services and respond to information requests. Records should not be kept longer than necessary where they contain personal data.
A. Democratic, Constitutional and Governance Records
| Record type |
Retention period |
Notes |
| Signed minutes of Full Council and committees |
Permanent |
Core democratic and historical record. |
| Agendas and reports |
Permanent or 6 years, depending on significance |
Keep reports supporting significant decisions permanently; routine supporting papers may be reviewed after 6 years. |
| Draft minutes |
Until approved minutes are signed |
Delete or mark as superseded once final minutes are approved. |
| Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, policies and terms of reference |
Current version plus 6 years; historically significant versions permanent |
Keep adopted versions and review history. |
| Declarations of acceptance of office |
Term of office plus 6 years |
Retain longer if linked to a dispute or investigation. |
| Members’ register of interests |
Current plus 6 years after member leaves office |
Published/current register may be managed with the Monitoring Officer route. |
| Election notices and casual vacancy records |
6 years after election or vacancy process |
Final election results may be kept permanently. |
B. Finance, Audit and Procurement
| Record type |
Retention period |
Notes |
| Annual accounts, annual governance and accountability returns, audit reports |
Permanent |
Core public accountability records. |
| Budgets, precepts and budget monitoring reports |
6 years plus current financial year |
Retain longer where needed for audit history or major projects. |
| Invoices, receipts, purchase orders, payment records and bank records |
6 years plus current financial year |
Standard finance and audit retention. |
| Payroll, PAYE, pension and tax records |
6 years plus current tax year |
Check pension scheme requirements before disposal. |
| VAT records |
6 years plus current financial year |
Retain longer if HMRC or audit issue is live. |
| Tender records and procurement exercises |
6 years after contract end; 12 years if executed as a deed |
Keep award decision, evaluation and final contract together. |
| Unsuccessful tender submissions |
6 years after award or end of challenge period if lower risk |
Review privacy and commercial sensitivity before retention. |
| Grant applications and awards |
6 years after final monitoring or payment |
Retain award decisions, conditions, payment and monitoring evidence. |
C. Land, Property, Assets and Insurance
| Record type |
Retention period |
Notes |
| Title deeds, land ownership, leases and easements |
Permanent |
Retain securely; do not destroy scanned originals unless legally confirmed. |
| Asset register |
Permanent; keep superseded versions at least 6 years |
Supports audit, insurance and public accountability. |
| Building plans, major works, asbestos, fire safety and structural records |
Life of asset plus 6 years; some records permanent |
Retain safety-critical records for as long as relevant. |
| Civic Hall and facility hire agreements |
6 years after booking or event |
Retain longer if incident, claim or debt is live. |
| Allotment tenancy agreements and records |
6 years after tenancy ends |
Dispose of routine correspondence earlier if no longer needed. |
| Insurance policies |
Permanent or at least 40 years for employer/public liability evidence |
Historic liability records may be needed for long-tail claims. |
| Insurance claims and incident files |
6 years after closure; longer for injury, safeguarding or child-related matters |
Apply legal advice where serious injury or child involvement exists. |
D. Employment, HR and Councillor Administration
| Record type |
Retention period |
Notes |
| Personnel files |
6 years after employment ends |
Retain key employment record, contract, changes, training and disciplinary/grievance outcomes as needed. |
| Recruitment records for unsuccessful applicants |
6 to 12 months after recruitment ends |
Retain longer only if a claim, complaint or safeguarding issue is live. |
| Right to work checks |
Employment duration plus 2 years |
Follow current Home Office requirements. |
| Sickness absence records |
6 years after employment ends |
Handle as sensitive personal data. |
| Accident records involving employees |
At least 3 years after incident; longer if claim risk |
Retain longer for serious injuries or industrial disease risk. |
| Training records |
Employment or role duration plus 6 years |
Safety, safeguarding and specialist training may need longer retention. |
| Councillor training and role records |
Term of office plus 6 years |
Retain longer for governance or complaint matters. |
| Record type |
Retention period |
Notes |
| Service requests and reports of problems |
2 to 6 years after closure |
Use shorter periods for routine low-risk matters; longer where repair, liability or recurring issue evidence is needed. |
| Complaints files |
6 years after closure |
Retain outcome, correspondence and learning actions. |
| FOI and EIR requests |
3 years after closure |
Retain request, response, review and exemption reasoning. |
| Subject access and data rights requests |
3 years after closure |
Retain enough to evidence handling and response. |
| Data breach records |
6 years after closure |
Significant breaches may need longer if regulatory action or claims are possible. |
| Safeguarding concerns |
Seek specialist advice; normally retain securely for a long period |
Do not dispose without safeguarding/legal review. |
| CCTV footage |
Normally 31 days unless required for an incident, claim, complaint, safeguarding or law enforcement purpose |
Incident extracts should be retained with the related case file. |
F. Community, Events, Grants and Communications
| Record type |
Retention period |
Notes |
| Event planning, licences, risk assessments and safety records |
6 years after event |
Retain longer if incident, claim or safeguarding issue arises. |
| Consultation responses |
2 years after decision unless needed to evidence major project |
Anonymise or summarise where possible for long-term reporting. |
| Newsletters, press releases and public notices |
6 years; significant civic publications permanent |
Website copies may be retained as public record. |
| Website and social media content |
Current operational need; significant announcements 6 years or permanent if historically important |
Capture records that evidence decisions, consultations or public notices. |
| Photographs and video |
Review every 3 years or when consent/purpose ends |
Keep civic/historical images longer where justified; manage consent and privacy. |
| Grant recipient monitoring reports |
6 years after final report/payment |
Keep with grant award file. |
G. IT, Systems and Administration
| Record type |
Retention period |
Notes |
| IT asset register and system inventory |
Current plus 6 years |
Supports security, continuity and audit. |
| System access logs |
Normally 6 to 12 months |
Retain longer if security incident or investigation is live. |
| Backup logs and restore test records |
2 years |
Retain evidence of backup checks and recovery tests. |
| Supplier contracts and data processing agreements |
6 years after contract end; 12 years if deed |
Keep due diligence, contract, variation and exit records. |
| Routine administrative emails and working drafts |
Delete when no longer needed |
File emails that are Council records before deleting mailbox copies. |
| Transitory notes, duplicates and convenience copies |
Delete when purpose ends |
Do not keep unnecessary personal data or duplicate files. |
