§ Sir Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take on the recommendations of the working party he set up to devise a system whereby information about the unsuitability by 103W reason of criminal background of people seeking positions with access to children can be communicated to those who may employ them.
§ Mr. MellorA draft circular to give effect to the recommendations relating to paid and voluntary workers in local authority education and social services, and the probation service, has been circulated widely for comments. A draft circular covering National Health Service workers will be circulated shortly. Final circulars will be issued as soon as comments received on these drafts have been considered.
The review team is at present considering what arrangements can be made to cover those working with children in the voluntary and private sectors.
§ Sir Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria he used in deciding to exclude the Police Federation and the Superintendents Association from the working party he set up to review arrangements for the disclosure of information about the criminal records of persons seeking employment where they would have substantial access to children.
§ Mr. MellorThe steering group supervising this review was kept small to enable the review to proceed quickly. The police interest is represented by a chief constable and the officer in charge of the national identification bureau. Both the Superintendents Association and Police Federation were consulted on the first report of the review and will continue to be consulted at each stage.