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.
Quick links
Interim process for when Compass goes offline
This process will be impacted by Compass going offline for everyone from Thursday 7 November. For details on how this process is impacted and what you'll need to do instead, please take a look at our interim processes.
Find out more about the interim processes(FS310610) Reviewed January 2019
The forms covered in this guidance are:
- Adult information form
- Reference form (RF)
- Appointment review (AR) form
- Cancellation/suspension (CS) form.
For guidance around collecting information relating to criminal records checks (DBS checks), please see the Secure Storage and Handling guidance read Appointment forms.
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
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.
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.
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