§ 24. Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the cost to voluntary organisations of obtaining access to criminal records of applicants to work with young people. [80975]
§ Mr. BoatengWe have received representations on this issue from a number of voluntary organisations. We considered very carefully whether there was any way in 71W which free checks could be provided for volunteers. Whilst we acknowledge the very valuable contribution volunteers make, we have concluded that it will not be practicable to provide any free checks from the Criminal Records Bureau for volunteers or for any other groups. We realise that this is unwelcome news, but providing free checks would prove an unsustainable burden on the public purse and may increase demand for certificates from the Bureau to an uncontrollable extent. In addition, we do not consider it would be fair to allow volunteers to have free certificates when there are other equally deserving groups such as school leavers, the unemployed and disabled people. The level of fees for certificates from the Bureau will be kept to the minimum necessary to recoup costs.