Retention and disposal schedules Finance retention schedule

Published: 18 August 2025

Accounting and reporting

Accounting systems

  • Retention period: retain until superseded
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Business planning

  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Council accounts

  • Description: all council accounts, income and expenditure
  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: compliance with HMRC regulations
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Departmental accounts

  • Description: detailed spreadsheet held by finance team (actual statement is published on public website)
  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: compliance with HMRC regulations
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Government accounts

  • Description: accounts, income, receipts, reports
  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: compliance with HMRC regulations
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Group accounts

  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: compliance with HMRC regulations
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Reconciliations

  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Returns

  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Asset management

Fixed asset register

  • Description: detailed spreadsheet held by finance team
  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: compliance with HMRC regulations
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Maintaining assets

  • Description: asset registers and logs
  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Valuations

  • Description: detailed valuations, register of valuations of properties
  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: compliance with HMRC regulations
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Budget planning and monitoring

Budget Monitoring

  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Budget setting

  • Description: detailed spreadsheet held by finance team, committee report
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Corporate budgets

  • Description: corporate budget information
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Directorate budgets

  • Description: departmental budget information
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Medium-term financial strategy

  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Schools' budget

  • Description: detailed spreadsheet held by finance team
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Financial income

Debtors

  • Description: raising invoices and credits, aged debt, direct debits, write-offs, reconciliation, transfers and refunds, month-end reports
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Adult social care debtors

  • Description: raising invoices and credits, aged debt, direct debits, write-offs, reconciliation, transfers and refunds, month-end reports
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Traded services

  • Description: income and expenditure accounts for services provided by council
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Refunds

  • Description: refund records, accounts, payment records, remittance advices
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Grants and other contributions

  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Financial Payments

Adult social care creditors

  • Description: invoices
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Creditors

  • Description: invoices
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Petty cash

  • Description: petty dash accounts
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Procurement cards

  • Description: details of bank, card details, transactions
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Suppliers

  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Payroll

Employee payroll

  • Description: overpayments, urgent payments, BACS recall, costing journals, account
  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Maternity

  • Description: statutory maternity pay, paternity, adoption, maternity
  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Non-employee payroll

  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Pensions

  • Description: submissions to the pension companies and pension opt-out forms
  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Reports

  • Description: time and mileage, payroll reports, deadline, year-end, audit, payments
  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Sickness payments

  • Description: long-term sickness, SSP1
  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Revenues and Benefits

Benefits

  • Description: All records relating to assistance with applications with complex benefit appeals
  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Business rates

  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Council tax

  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Revenues

  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Subsidies

  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Systems

  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Revenues (reference)

  • Retention period: retain until superseded
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Revenues (administration)

  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Revenues (processing)

  • Retention period: 1 month after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Revenues (management)

  • Retention period: retain until superseded
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Taxation

Construction Industry Scheme

  • Description: register of CIS payments
  • Retention period: 7 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: yes
  • Special category data: no

Other taxation

  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Partial Exemption

  • Description: exemption reports and records
  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Tax guidance

  • Description: tax returns
  • Retention period: permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

VAT

  • Description: VAT certification, VAT returns and records
  • Retention period: Permanent
  • Action: retain
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Treasury management

Banking

  • Description: Bank account details, all banking resources
  • Retention Period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: Delete
  • Reasoning: Business Requirement
  • Personal Data: No
  • Special Category Data: No

Cash flow

  • Description: detailed spreadsheet held by finance team
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Investments

  • Description: council investments and correspondence
  • Retention period: retain until superseded
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Loans and borrowing

  • Description: lending records and correspondence
  • Retention period: retain until superseded
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Monitoring and reporting

  • Description: financial reports
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Treasury strategy

  • Description: guidance, advice, procedures
  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no

Year end and audit

  • Retention period: 6 years after last modified
  • Action: delete
  • Reasoning: business requirement
  • Personal data: no
  • Special category data: no