Legal Admissibility

We are often asked whether the creation of electronic versions of hard copy and the subsequent disposal of the originals, provides sufficient compliance with current legislation.

Digitised documents are deemed acceptable by bodies such as HM Revenue & Customs or when submitted as legal evidence as long as it can be demonstrated that due care and diligence has been taken with their creation, storage and cataloguing.

British Standards (BS 10008), and the Data Protection Act of 1998, and current Law Society guidelines lay out clear guiding principles for electronic document management methodologies. Our clients can be assured that ASM DataCore Ltd fully comply with all current best practice and provide a clear audit chain, this details all the processes from the collection to the destruction of a file.

The Law Society recommends that where a document is converted electronically and the original destroyed, written evidence of the destruction must be preserved. We provide all customers with a certificate of destruction detailing the relevant files and documents involved in the electronic conversion and subsequent disposal of the original.

The benefits  become instantly apparent when considering the duration of the legal and regulatory obligations to retain documentation. HM Revenue & Customs currently demand key records of businesses must be retained for at least 6 years whilst the NHS specify the health records of research subjects must be retained for at least 30 years.

Child Welfare files 70 years.

Need More Information Contact Us – email:  teams@asmdata.co.uk  or call 01264 336007