A record retention schedule is a list which pre-determines the dates of destruction of records. The principal aim of the schedule is to fix a date for the category of records for their disposal. The role of the record retention schedule is to find out how long the category of records should stay in a system and after how long they are going to be of no more value. So, they can be destroyed such that it will satisfy all the legal, regulatory, and operational purposes and helps in coordinating the preservation, maintenance, and disposal of a list of data.
Why is this important?
There is a careful balance that should be struck with regards to the retention of documents. It is necessary that records are kept for as long as their components have operational value and for as lengthy as they may be required as evidence of the deals they document.
However, there are often likewise compelling factors not to preserve such documents for any longer than they are required connecting to costs of storage, stress on physical space and the need to divulge all relevant details you keep in action to an FOI request or legal exploration workout.
When it comes to documents including individual information, there are likewise legal requirements under Data Protection Act’s Principle 5, which need establishments to not preserve personal information for longer than is essential for the objective( s) for which it was obtained.
There are also lawful requirements regulating just how institutions and various other public bodies should eliminate the documents they want to get rid of legitimately. According to the s. 46 Code of Practice on the monitoring of documents which comes with the Freedom of Information Act:
Each authority should keep an option policy which states in broad terms the functions from which records are likely to be picked for irreversible preservation and the periods for which various other documents must be preserved.
