§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 4 June 1998,Official Report, columns 304–05, to the hon. Member for Warrington, North (Helen Jones) if he will list the members of the working party on safeguards for children; what the working party's terms of reference are; and how he intends that it should solicit the views of interested parties. [56367]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Interdepartmental Working Group on Preventing Unsuitable People from Working with Children and Abuse of Trust includes officials from the following Departments and organisations who attend or receive papers:
- Home Office, including the Prison Service
- Department for Education and Employment
- Department of Health
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
- Cabinet Office
- Welsh Office
- Ministry of Defence
- Lord Chancellor's Department
- Department of Trade and Industry
- Charity Commission
- Crown Prosecution Service
- Association of Chief Police Officers
- National Health Service Executive
- Officials from the Scottish Office, Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Department for Health and Social Security also attend the meetings.
The group's terms of reference are:
To consider additional safeguards to prevent those who are unsuitable from working with children in the public, private and voluntary sectors in England and Wales, including the possibility of a central register backed up by a new criminal offence to prevent those on the list applying for work with children; to consider further measures to protect 16 and 17 year olds in England and Wales who may be vulnerable to abuse by those in a position of trust in the public, private and voluntary sectors, including a possible new criminal offence; and to make recommendations.In undertaking this work, the Working Group will draw on the consultation exercise "Sex Offenders: a Ban on Working with Children"; on recommendations made in the report of Sir William Utting's review of safeguards for children living away from home and the Government's response to this review; and on existing safeguards.In establishing a framework for protecting children, the working group will also bear in mind the need to protect vulnerable adults, with a view to the subsequent extension of safeguards to this wider group.The Working Group conducted a consultation exercise in August which asked organisations with an interest in this area for their views on the issues involved. It also plans to hold two seminars at the end of November with some of these organisations to look further at a range of issues.
§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Warrington, North (Helen Jones) of 4 June 1998, 61W Official Report, column 305, when the Ministerial Task Force on the Children's Safeguards Review will publish its response to the consultation exercise, Sex Offenders: A Ban on Working with Children, and to Sir William Utting's review on safeguards for children living away from home with particular reference to those recommendations dealing with choosing the right staff. [56657]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Ministerial Task Force on the Children's Safeguards Review will publish its response to that review shortly. A separate interdepartmental working group of officials is looking at additional safeguards to prevent those who are unsuitable from working with children. This group has specifically been asked to draw on the consultation exercise "Sex Offenders: A Ban on Working with Children" and on the recommendations in Sir William Utting's report, especially those dealing with choosing the right staff. Its report is due by the end of the year.