§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the occupations that are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974; if he will revise the Act so that all citizens, irrespective of their occupation, are treated the same; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what consideration he has given to reviewing the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr MacleanExceptions to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 are most conveniently listed in annex E to the Government's 1993 Green Paper "Disclosure of Criminal Records for Employment Vetting Purposes" CM 2319. A copy is available in the Library. Since that paper was published, osteopaths, chiropractors and operators of the national lottery have been added to the list of excepted categories.
We have no plans to amend the Act itself. However, we are reviewing the scope and scale of the exceptions to the Act as part of a wider review of employment vetting arrangements. We intend to publish in the spring a White Paper setting out our proposals.