§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the consultation process in place in relation to the establishment of the Criminal Records Bureau; what representations he has received concerning the establishment of the Bureau; and when the Bureau will be operational. [83709]
§ Mr. BoatengA User Group will be established to enable the views of the users of the Criminal Records Bureau's services to be taken into account in its detailed implementation. Wider consultation on, for example, the content of the Code of Practice for bodies to be registered with the Bureau will also be undertaken.
Since the Home Secretary announced the establishment of the Criminal Records Bureau in December 1998 we have received a number of representations. We estimated at that time that it would take some two years to establish the Bureau.
§ Ms KinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his current estimate of the impact on the voluntary sector of the proposed charges for criminal record checks at the Criminal Records Bureau. [83572]
§ Mr. BoatengI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) on 22 February 1999,Official Report, column 103.