§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what procedures are available for organisations working with children to gain access to the names of British citizens convicted of sexual offences against children in(a) European Union member states and (b) other countries. [3379]
§ Mr. MacleanI have been asked to reply.
Organisations working with children in the statutory sector and in parts of the voluntary and private sectors have access to pre-employment criminal record checks on their staff or volunteers. The check will reveal any record that the police may hold indicating that a person has been convicted of a sexual offence against children. This would include any information which had been received about overseas convictions of British citizens. Such information is often, but not always, supplied through Interpol by the authorities in the country of conviction.