Storage

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the DBS Code of Practice, all documentation or data sources will be kept in order to track the progress of a disclosure application. Once an application has been processed data sources will be archived accordingly (see Retention below for additional information).

Documents and data sources will be stored as follows:

• Students - will be stored securely in relevant Departments/Sections and access will be for authorised personnel only.
• Staff members - will be located within Human Resources. For further information regarding storage and retention of staff disclosure notices please visit the Human Resources Webpages.

Retention

All departments should have procedures in place to securely destroy all Disclosure documentation that has had no impact on the recruitment or admissions decision as soon as that decision has been made. The exact timing of this will depend on the admissions or recruitment process involved.

Where a recruitment or admissions decision has been affected by the information contained in a Disclosure, this will need to be retained until the individual concerned has had sufficient opportunity to challenge that decision. The destruction of the Disclosure should, therefore, be included in the appeals and review procedures for recruitment and admissions held by departments. In all cases, departments should ensure that the appeals and review procedure does not exceed the 6 month limit on retention, otherwise permission to retain the Disclosure will require the consent of the Lead Countersignatory.

Departments are permitted to keep records containing specific information from the Disclosure form to verify that a Disclosure has been requested and/or received (this record may be kept for longer than the 6 month limit but the retention limit should be in line with the University's records management policy). This record may not include any indication of whether the Disclosure was clear or not but may contain any of the following:

• The date of the Disclosure
• The name of the Disclosure Subject
• The type of Disclosure
• The position or programme applied for
• The Disclosure application number
• The recruitment or admissions decision taken
  
  

Electronic data should be deleted when a student or member of staff has left the University.

Please contact dbs.applications@durham.ac.uk if you have any queries.