Whilst personal data should only be retained until no longer required and also kept up-to-date, the Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) does enable the retention and use of personal information for statistical and research purposes if certain criteria and rules are followed.
Compass can produce certain statistical data. Local Scout Groups, Districts, Counties/Areas/Regions (Scotland) and Countries may retain records simply for statistical/archive purpose and the Data Protection Act and GDPR states that personal data held for these purposes may be kept indefinitely as long as it is not used in connection with decisions affecting particular individuals or in a way that is likely to cause damage or distress. This does not mean that the information may be kept forever as it should be securely and safely deleted/destroyed when it is no longer needed for those historical, statistical or research purposes. If you are retaining records for archive or statistical purpose you must ensure that the data is kept very securely.