HC Deb 25 February 2004 vol 418 cc452-3W
Mr. Oaten

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 28 January 2003,Official Report, column 440W, regarding the Criminal Records Bureau, if he will place a copy of the survey in the Library. [155052]

Ms Blears

Once the report has been finalised, a copy will be made available and placed in the Library.

I will write to you again to confirm when this has been done

Mrs. Ellman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to enable the Criminal Records Bureau to access information from Customs and Excise and Immigration authorities. [155667]

Ms Blears

[holding answer 23 February 2004]: From the outset, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has been able to access conviction data in relation to cases brought by non-"Home Office" police forces and other agencies such as Customs and Excise, through the Police National Computer. Similarly, the CRB would have access to relevant local intelligence held by the police arising from a joint operation involving the police and an agency such as Customs and Excise. We are committed to bringing forward legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows to enable the CRB to access intelligence information held by non-"Home Office" police forces and other law enforcement agencies such as Customs and Excise and, in due course, the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It is currently open to bodies such as Customs and Excise, if they have information that, for example, connects a school employee to the smuggling of child pornography, to notify the relevant authorities of such information.

Mrs. Ellman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will commission research to assess the effectiveness of the Criminal Records Bureau in protecting children. [155978]

Ms Blears

[holding answer 23 February 2004]: We shall build on research conducted in early 2003 which showed that employers found information supplied by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) useful in making recruitment decisions, and that some one in five had decided not to appoint someone on the basis of information supplied by the CRB.