Retention policy 896/2024

FOI Reference: 896/2024

Request:

Please could you outline the retention timescales for personnel files of former employees (police staff).

Would this retention policy be different for a staff member who resigned compared to a staff member who was dismissed.

 

Response:

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at Section 1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.

Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires -Powys Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:

(a) states that fact,

(b) specifies the exemption in question and

(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, however the following exemption has been applied to the whole of the information you have requested:

Section 21 – Information reasonably accessible by other means:

U.K.

“This section has no associated Explanatory Notes

(1) Information which is reasonably accessible to the applicant otherwise than under section 1 is exempt information.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—

(a)information may be reasonably accessible to the applicant even though it is accessible only on payment, and

(b) information is to be taken to be reasonably accessible to the applicant if it is information which the public authority or any other person is obliged by or under any enactment to communicate (otherwise than by making the information available for inspection) to members of the public on request, whether free of charge or on payment.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), information which is held by a public authority and does not fall within subsection (2)(b) is not to be regarded as reasonably accessible to the applicant merely because the information is available from the public authority itself on request, unless the information is made available in accordance with the authority’s publication scheme and any payment required is specified in, or determined in accordance with, the scheme.”

The information requested can be accessed via the following hyperlink, under the section titled People (Page 42).  The retention period for personnel records is contained within page 46 –

NPCC Review Retention and Disposal Schedule 2020 v4 (merseyside.police.uk)                                               

                                                           

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 26/09/2024)