§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what meetings he has had with Ministers in other Departments with regard to(a) child protection in sport and (b) inter-agency working on child protection in sport; [69127]
(2) what measures he has put in place to facilitate other Departments' involvement in implementing the Criminal Records Bureau disclosure information checks with regard to child protection in sport. [69124]
§ Hilary BennAlthough the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has been set up as an executive agency of the Home Office, its work supports the policy objectives of several Departments including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) objectives of improving child protection in sport. Employers and other organisations taking forward the policies on child protection of DCMS and other Departments are already making substantial use of the CRB service.
No ministerial meetings have been arranged specifically on these subjects. But sport was represented on the CRB's customer forum which advised on the implementation of the bureau. Officials have also had a number of ad hoc meetings with representatives of sports organisations with regard to checks for child protection purposes, as they have with other Departments and with a range of other organisations about checks for this and other purposes.
§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the status is of(a) referees and umpires, (b) referees' assistants, (c) match officials and (d) others who receive remuneration for their involvement in the context of the Criminal Records Bureau disclosure information checks; [69129]
(2) what his definition is of a volunteer for whom Criminal Records Bureau disclosure information checks are necessary. [69128]
§ Hilary BennWe announced in February of last year that standard and enhanced disclosures will be issued free of charge in the case of volunteers. The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002 define a volunteer as a person engaged in an activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit some third party other than or in addition to a close relative. Those persons in the categories mentioned who met the criteria for these levels of Disclosure which are set out in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 and section 115 of the Police Act 1997 and whose remuneration amounted only to travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses would, of course, be entitled to a free Disclosure.