Purpose

When the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual
Abuse (IICSA) was first launched in 2015, local authorities were
directed not to dispose of records that could fall within its Terms
of Reference. The Chair at the time acknowledged the breadth of
this statement and as a result a wide range of records had to be
retained while the Inquiry was on-going. The Inquiry published its
final report on 20 October 2022. The Government responded to the
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in May 2023.
The moratorium on holding records has now been lifted but due to
the scope and length of the Inquiry over 130k digital and paper
records are now overdue for disposal. This paper proposes how to
deal with non social care records previously on hold due to the
Inquiry.

Content

Heloise MacAndrew,
Director of Law and Governance took a decision to agree that disposal of
non-social care records relating to children and young people can
proceed in line with their agreed retention periods without further
review.