Where a publicly funded organisation has been the subject of an investigation which has led to significant criticism or prosecution, the relevant records should be retained for at least 10 years from the date of conclusion of the investigation. Addendum to DAO (DFP) 08/07.
Any records pertaining to European Union(EU) funding must, by EC Regulation, be retained for at least seven years after EU Programme spend has been completed.
| Ref | Record Type | Minimum Retention Period |
Relevant Legislation /Derivation |
Final Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Accounts | |||
| a. Minor records
Passbooks, bank statements of accounts, pay in slips, lodgement slips counterfoils, cancelled and discharged cheques (for cheques bearing printed receipts, see Receipts), cheque counterfoils, accounts of petty cash expenditure, travelling and subsistence accounts, minor vouchers including duplicated receipt books, income records, receipt for registered and recorded delivery mail, forms used in connection with the supply of surgical appliances, laundry lists and receipts. |
two years (from completion of the audit) | Destroy | ||
| b. Working papers | three years (from completion of the audit) | Destroy | ||
| c. Debtors records - cleared | two years (from completion of the audit) | Destroy | ||
| d. Debtors records - uncleared | six years (from completion of the audit) | The Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 | Destroy | |
| e. Cost accounts | three years after end of financial year to which they relate | Destroy | ||
| F2 | Advice notes [delivery statement, or note advising what is in a package, or what is coming: they are usually received in advance of the invoice] | two years | Destroy | |
| F3 | Annual accounts (final one set only) | 30 years | A copy of final published accounts should be sent to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland | |
| F4 | Asset Management | |||
| Asset registers - assets/equipment registers, records | six years after the asset is disposed of | Destroy | ||
| Depreciation registers - records relating to the calculation of annual depreciation | six years after the asset of last one in the register is disposed of | Destroy | ||
| F5 | Audit records - original documents (For example; organisational audits, records audits, systems audits) - internal and external in any format (paper, electronic etc) | three years from the date of completion of the audit | The National Archives Internal Audit Records Retention Schedule | Destroy |
| F6 | Audit reports (including management letters. Value for money reports and system/final accounts memorandum) internal and external. | six years after formal clearance by Statutory Auditor | The National Archives Internal Audit Records Retention Schedule | Destroy |
| F7 | Benefactions/Endowments/Trust Fund | |||
| Documents relating to benefactions, special donations and memorials of any sort covered by HSC Legislation. | five years after the end of the financial year in which the Trust money becomes finally spent or the gift in kind was accepted | Destroy | ||
| Documents relating to benefactions, special donations and memorials of any sort covered by HSC Legislation, where the fund/capital/interest, remains permanent. | The records should be permanently retained by the organisation | Retain - permanently | ||
| F8 | Bills, receipts and cleared cheques Authority to deduct forms, deposit details and meter readings |
six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F9 | Primary Care HSC prescriptions received by the BSO | six years | Destroy | |
| F10 | Business case documentation | 10 years after completion of project or handover of facility in terms of larger projects | Destroy | |
| F11 | Budgets (including working papers, reports, virements and journals) | two years from completion of audit | Destroy | |
| F12 | Buyng orders for Goods and Services | six years | Destroy | |
| F13 | Capital charges data | two years from completion of the audit | Destroy | |
| F14 | Capital paid invoices | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | The Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 | Destroy |
| F15 | Cash books | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | The Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 | Destroy |
| F16 | Cash sheets | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | The Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 | Destroy |
| F17 | Clients Financial Records | |||
| Documents relating to the Trust Management of the finances of individuals admitted to residential or nursing homes or their own home | six years following the settlement of the accounts to which they relate | Destroy | ||
| Deeds and correspondence relating to the transfer of property, the purchase disposal and leasing of property and the acquisition, transfer and disposal of mortgages. | Determined on review | |||
| Correspondence with legal department and solicitors | It should be noted that financial records are usually held for six years after the close of the financial year to which they relate. As all the bills are cleared and the remaining monies paid back to the family or solicitor after the client's death, it would be wise to retain all financial records for six years after that date. | Destroy | ||
| F18 | Creditor payments | six years after end of financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F19 | Delivery notes | two years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F20 | Demand notes | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F21 | Estimates including supporting calculations and statistics | three years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F22 | Expense claims including travel and subsistence claims - claims and authorisation | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F23 | Excess fares | six years after payment ceases | Destroy | |
| F24 | Finance Statements | |||
| Statements/summaries/ reconciliations prepared for inclusion in quarterly/annual reports | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | Records Management Retention scheduling | Destroy | |
| Periodic financial statements prepared for management on a regulars basis | Destroy when cumulated into quarterly/ annual reports | Records Management Retention scheduling | Destroy | |
| Ad hoc statements | one year | Records Management Retention scheduling | Destroy | |
| F25 | Formula records for calculating employee variation of hours | one year after entry | Destroy | |
| F26 | Fraud Report papers used in the course of a fraud investigation - theft, fraud, misappropriation, irrecoverable debts and overpayments, write-offs, recovery of debt, wavering of debt |
six years after the audit where the matter was resolved internally, otherwise 10 years after the action/ investigation is completed | Destroy | |
| F27 | Funding data (including monitoring) | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate Any records pertaining to European Union funding must, by ED Regulation, be retained for a least seven years after the EU Programme spend has been completed |
Destroy | |
| F28 | General medical services payments | six years after year end | Destroy | |
| F29 | Income and expenditure journals | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F30 | Invoices | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | The Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 | Destroy |
| F31 | Ledger records, including such documents as ledgers, income and expenditure journals, nominal rolls | six years following the end of the last financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F32 | Monitoring of financial records | six years following the end of the last financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F33 | Mortgage documents (acquisition, transfer and disposal) | six year after repayment | Determined on review | |
| F34 | Non-exchequer funds records (That is, funding received by the organisation that does not directly relate to patient care for example, charitable funds) | six years from the end of the financial year in which they are made | Part 8 of the Charities Act (NI) 2008 | Although technically exempt from the Public Records Act, it would be appropriate for authorities to treat these records as if they were not exempt - Destroy |
| F35 | Patient monies (ie smaller sums of donated money) | six years | Destroy | |
| F36 | PAYE records | six years after termination of employment | Destroy | |
| F37 | Payments | six years after the end of the financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F38 | Private finance initiative (PFI) | 30 years | Determined on review | |
| F39 | Receipt for registered and recorded delivery mail | See GMGR Section F1 | Destroy | |
| F40 | Receipts | six years after end of financial year to which they relate | The Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 | Destroy |
| F41 | Requisitions | two years (organisations may wish to review before destruction) | Destroy | |
| F42 | VAT records | six years following the end of the financial year to which they relate | Destroy | |
| F43 | Value for money (VFM) | |||
| Reports created or instigated internally in the organisation | six years following the end of the tax year to which the papers relate | Determined on review | ||
| Reporting on financial exercises reviews monitoring | six years following the end of the tax year to which the papers relate | Determined on review |