HL Deb 26 July 1989 vol 510 cc1548-9WA
Lord Macaulay of Bragar

asked Her Majesty's Government:

(1) What access to criminal records of any applicants for employment with them in the United Kingdom is available to local authorities, hospitals and similar bodies in areas in which children, young persons, the old and the mentally handicapped may be at risk of physical, sexual or moral abuse by a person so employed; (2) whether they consider that the present access available to prospective employers provides an adequate safeguard against the employment of unsuitable applicants; and (3) what proposals they have to make such information more easily available to prospective employers.

The Minister of State, Home Office (Earl Ferrers)

Arrangements have been established which allow local authorities, health authorities and independent schools to seek information from the police about the criminal background of those who apply to work in posts with substantial access to children. Pilot schemes to allow similar access to police information by voluntary organisations will be introduced later this year.

The Association of Chief Police Officers is currently reviewing its policy on the disclosure of information. Access to police records for the protection of the elderly and the mentally handicapped is one of the issues under consideration.

Information from police records does not of itself provide an adequate safeguard against the employment of unsuitable applicants. The suitability of an applicant can be judged only through consideration of all the information which the prospective employer has about the person, including references and results of interviews as well as any criminal background.

The present arrangements are generally thought to be satisfactory, but are kept under regular review by the Home Office.

Lord Swinfen

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will extend the arrangements for the disclosure of police information about those who apply to work with children, which are currently available to local authorities, and to voluntary organisations.

Earl Ferrers

We have today announced that, with the agreement of the Association of Chief Police Officers and representatives of the voluntary sector, three pilot schemes are to be set up to allow voluntary organisations access to police information about those who apply to work with children. One of the schemes will cover, principally, national child care organisations, the other two will be based locally in Dudley and Lancashire.

The national scheme will be hosted by the National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations and, although it will cover largely national child care organisations, it would not exclude other nationally based organisations. The two local schemes, hosted by the Dudley Council for Voluntary Service and the Community Council for Lancashire, will aim to provide a service for locally organised voluntary groups.

The three new schemes, which will be funded by the Government during the pilot phase, will extend to voluntary organisations the arrangements now available to local authorities and the health service, which will allow them access to police information about those seeking to work in posts which would give them substantial and unsupervised access to children.