HL Deb 19 November 1998 vol 594 cc208-9WA
Lord Swinfen

asked Her Majesty's Government:

  1. (a) How many meetings there have been of the Inter-departmental Working Group on Preventing Unsuitable People from Working with Children and Abuse of Trust;
  2. (b) how many organisations the group has consulted;
  3. (c) how many organisations the group has met; and
  4. (d) when they expect the final recommendations of the group to be published. [HL3851]

Lord Williams of Mostyn

The working group has held a total of 14 meetings: three of the full group, acting as a steering group, and 11 of the various sub-groups set up to take forward particular aspects of the work. It produced a consultation document which was initially sent out to 116 organisations. In addition, the group has consulted various organisations which subsequently expressed interest and a number of individuals, including Peers and Members of Parliament, also received the consultation letter. Members of the working group have met a number of organisations informally and the group will be holding two seminars at the end of the month to involve a number of organisations from the voluntary, private and business sectors.

The group expects to report its conclusions and recommendations to Ministers at the end of the year; we would expect to make public the recommendations shortly after this.