| Information type | Keep for | Keep from | Legislation or business reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Protection / Assessments / Referrals / Children in Need / Serious Case Reviews | Until 25 of until 6 years after death if adult | Creation | Limitation Act 1980 |
| Children’s homes case records for children accommodated | Until child is 75 or if dies adult 15 years after death | Creation | |
| Adoption records where an Adoption Order is not made | Six years | Date of last action | An adoption agency must keep the child’s case record and the prospective adopter’s case record for such period as it considers appropriate. Where an adoption order is not made and the agency decides to close the child’s adoption case record, it should transfer the information from this record to the looked after case record, in which case see Looked After Children record retention. If the child has never been looked after, the agency should destroy the records when no further action is necessary. An example of when this may be appropriate is if the possibility of adoption of a baby was discussed before the child’s birth, but the baby remained with the birth parents. For legislation governing retention of this information see the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005. |
| Adoption records where an Adoption Order is made | At least 100 years from the date of the adoption order | Date adoption order is made | Disclosure of Adoption Information (Post-Commencement Adoptions) Regulations 2005 |
| Fostering case records for people who are not approved as a foster parent, or who withdraws their application prior to approval | At least 3 years from the refusal or withdrawn | Creation | Business decision |
| Fostering case records for approved foster carers (including relatives, friends or connected persons granted temporary approval) | At least 10 years from the date on which their approval ends | Creation | |
| Looked After Children CaseRecords | Until child 75, if the child dies until 15 years from death | Creation | Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 |
| Local Authority Designated Officer allegations which an investigation has found to be substantiated | 100 years | Date of birth of the alleged perpetrator | Substantiated cases should not be deleted or removed sooner than this time as the outcome identifies the person poses a risk of harm to children and young people |
| Local Authority Designated Officer allegations which an investigation has found to be unsubstantiated | 100 Years | Date of birth of the alleged perpetrator | For cases that are deemed unsubstantiated there is neither evidence to confirm or deny the alleged incident happened and therefore the risk in deleting this information sooner is too high. The decision made to retain records whereby the outcome is unsubstantiated is informed by the Bichard Inquiry regarding Ian Huntley who had a series of unsubstantiated allegations against him that presented a pattern of concern. |
| Local Authority Designated Officer allegation where investigation has found to be unfounded or malicious | 10 years | From date record is closed | A decision to retain information beyond 10 years may be taken by the LADO if patterns or behaviour are emerging that suggest the person could continue to pose risk of harm. The reason for this decision must be recorded on the individual’s record. |
| Local Authority Designated Officer Advice Consultation | 6 years | From date of last contact | Limitation Act 1980 |
| Y Smart Drug and Alcohol service user records | 7 years | Date of last contact or date of death | |
| Complaints – Stage 3 – Review | Five years | Final response from head of service deemed resolution - no further action required | Professional decision |
| Complaints – Stage 2 Formal | Five years | Closure, resolution and final responses - no further action | Professional decision |
| Complaints – Stage 1 – informal, single, multiple, persistent | Same as relevant case record | No contact for two years from date of last complaint - no further action | Professional decision |