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Storing and destroying of adult appointment forms

The information on this webpage may be subject to change as the result of new legislation or guidelines. The Scouts will publish any new information, if and when it becomes available. This webpage should be checked regularly to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information.

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(FS310610) Reviewed January 2019

There are a number of forms that are available to support the recording of an adult’s journey through Scouting. This guidance provides details about the procedure for using, retaining or destroying forms.

The forms covered in this guidance are:

  • Adult information form
  • Reference  form (RF)
  • Appointment review (AR) form
  • Cancellation/suspension (CS) form.
Guidance around approval panel meeting notes and suspension communications is also included.

For guidance around collecting information relating to criminal records checks (DBS checks), please see the Secure Storage and Handling guidance read Appointment forms.

This guidance will be particularly helpful for Secretaries, Appointments Secretaries and other Administrators in Scouting.
This guidance has been written in order to provide support for the effective administration of the appointment process locally. Specifically, this means ensuring that paperwork is only kept for as long as it is relevant and is safely destroyed, that relevant information is stored appropriately and that relevant information is sent to the Scouts HQ where necessary. This will help local Scouting to fulfil its responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
This guidance is not intended to remove the responsibility for the management of information from Appointments Advisory Committees, but for the Scouts HQ to provide local Scouting with support to fulfil responsibilities under the DPA 2018 and the GDPR.
The DPA 2018 and the GDPR aim to protect an individual’s right to privacy by promoting high standards in the way personal information about individuals should be handled. The rules apply to personal information held electronically, including in emails, word documents, spreadsheets, in a database or held manually in a readily accessible filing system.

Therefore, such information collected in the course of Scouting needs to be dealt with appropriately in order to comply with the DPA 2018 and the GDPR. For example, forms and information should:

  • Be kept only for as long as required for the purpose for which it was obtained; and
  • Be kept secure proportionately to the level of harm that could result if unauthorised access occurs.
  • Be limited to only what is required, accurate and up to date
Sensitive (special category) personal data
Certain personal data is categorised as ‘special category’ and the lawful justification for its use needs careful consideration. For example, personal data becomes ‘special category’ if it includes information as to religious beliefs, physical or mental health or ethnicity.
Therefore, it is particularly important to follow these guidelines in order to appropriately store and destroy special category personal data.

Please note: Our GDPR toolkit at scouts.org.uk/GDPR gives a step-by-step guide to DPA 2018 and the GDPR alignment and should be referred to in conjunction with the information here. Please refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office for further details.

All forms need to be appropriately stored to ensure that any personal data is secure and protected. This requires taking sensible precautions to make sure that they cannot be inappropriately viewed or accessed by anyone. These precautions include: making sure that the premises on which the forms are kept are secure; that forms are kept in a locked location where possible; and ensuring the safety of the forms when not being stored (e.g. using appropriate postage when sending between people, and making sure forms are not left unattended at meetings).
Although forms would normally be processed and stored by the Appointments Secretary, local arrangements might ensure that someone else (e.g. the Appointments Chair) stores the forms. These arrangements should always consider the guidance mentioned here when deciding who the most appropriate person is.

 

 

Safely destroying forms

The forms should also be safely destroyed (timescales as per the guidance in the rest of this webpage) to remove all personal information. Shredding is an example of an appropriate method.

The adult information form is designed to help you collect the information needed to add new adult members (over the age of 18) onto Compass. The form should be retained locally and the information added to Compass as soon as possible. Once the information has been added to Compass, the form should be destroyed. 

The RF form is given to the referee usually by the Appointments Secretary. The referee then returns the form to them, who then pass it to the Appointments Advisory Committee.
If the process of obtaining references is being completed on Compass, the form will be sent to the referee via email, and the referee will be asked to return the form by replying to the email.
The RF Form should be retained locally until a decision has been made on whether to appoint. If you decide to appoint, the forms should be destroyed as soon as that decision is made and the individual’s record has been updated with this information.

If you decide not to appoint, due to an unsatisfactory reference, the RF Form should be sent to the Vetting team at the Scouts HQ at vetting@scouts.org.uk, along with any other relevant information regarding the decision not to appoint, within one week of the decision being made. This means that the form should not be kept for longer than one month from the date at which a decision is made and then either destroyed, or sent to the Scouts HQ.

The AR Form should be retained locally, by the Appointments Secretary (or whoever the appropriate person is) as part of an adult's record until the next review has been completed. The form should be sent to the individual and their line manager (or person carrying out the review) before the Review period is due. The new AR Form then replaces the old one. This means that a single AR Form should be stored for no longer than five years, and then destroyed.

The CS Form can be used to inform of the cancellation of an individual’s appointment for an unsatisfactory reason or in order to suspend an individual from Scouting.  This process can also be completed on Compass.

If using the paper form, the completed form (including any relevant information regarding the decision to cancel or suspend that person) must be sent to the Vetting team at the Scouts HQ – vetting@scouts.org.uk. This means that the form should not be kept for longer than a week before it is sent to the Scouts HQ.
Appointments Advisory Committee members may make notes about the applicant as a result of the approval meeting and should record significant points about the decision.
If it decides to appoint, any notes should be destroyed as soon as that decision is made and the individual’s record has been updated with this information.
If you decide not to appoint, all notes should be sent to the Vetting team at the Scouts HQ, at vetting@scouts.org.uk, along with any other relevant information regarding the decision not to appoint, within one week of the decision being made.

When ending a period of suspension the Appointments Advisory Committee may meet the adult involved and make a recommendation about the status of their suspension. Copies of all communication that relates to the suspension (by email, letter or phone), Committee meeting notes and copies of any decisions made, must be forwarded to the Vetting team at the Scouts HQ  - vetting@scouts.org.uk, within one week of the Appointments Advisory Committee meeting.

This guidance should be read in conjunction with:

For the latest information about the storing of data, visit the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office ico.org.uk