IHTM39031 - Destruction of files: introduction

To contain the costs of storage and to release storage space, most official papers are only kept for a certain number of years.

(This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

There are few exceptions to these rules:

• Papers that are being worked on what would otherwise have been their destruction date.
• Files where there is a future claim that needs to be reviewed.
• Files that are of historical importance that have been transferred to the National Archive.