§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what responsibilities the police have for checking the suitability of applicants to be school bus drivers; [10185]
(2) if applicants for school bus driving positions are always checked by the police against a central criminal database; [10186]
(3) how many applicants for school bus driving vacancies were checked against the central criminal database in 1995. [10187]
§ Mr. MacleanThe police have responsibility for carrying out criminal record checks on applicants for jobs in the statutory sector if the applicant will have a substantial level of regular unsupervised access to children, particularly if such access is on a one-to-one basis in an isolated setting. The Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office have agreed guidance on which groups should be eligible for checks and this is set out in Home Office circulars. School bus drivers are listed as one of the groups which should not 115W normally be subject to checks as it is assumed that, for most journeys, they will be transporting large numbers of children with a teacher or parent also present. If a bus driver is likely to be transporting a child or small number of children on a regular basis without a teacher or parent being present, the police have discretion to carry out a check.
If the police are satisfied that a check is justified, the applicant will be checked both against Phoenix, the national criminal record database, and local police records. No statistics are kept on the number of applicants for jobs as school bus drivers who have been checked.