§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to institute police checks on employees in the National Health Service working with vulnerable adults. [118740]
§ Mr. HuttonI refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Minister of State, Home Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke) on 17 April 2000,Official Report, column 377W, and his response in relation to police checks.
The Care Standards Bill will establish a new scheme to identify health and care workers who have harmed vulnerable adults and ban them from such work in the future.
Under the Protection of Vulnerable Adults scheme, providers of prescribed services within the National Health Service and in independent healthcare settings will be required to refer individuals for inclusion in the list. There will be a duty of providers of these services to check that prospective employees are not on the list and to refuse employment in that field to any person found to be on the list.
Initially the list will be operated by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. Once the Criminal Records Bureau is established, the Bureau will be able to supply an individual with a criminal record certificate or enhanced criminal record certificate which would indicate whether they were included in the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list.
While police checks can identify individuals who have come to the attention of the police, clearly there is no substitute for employers undertaking thorough checks into the background and employment history of applicants for all vacancies.