§ Ms ShipleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the timescale is for the implementation of each of the Bichard Report recommendations, with particular reference to(a) departments retaining records of cases not referred to the police, (b) all posts in schools being subject to the enhanced disclosure requirement, (c) head teachers and school governors receiving training to ensure that interviews reflect the importance of safeguarding children, (d) interview panels to appoint 216W staff working in schools requiring at least one trained member and (e) the introduction of a national IT intelligence system. [180583]
§ Mr. BlunkettWe are developing urgently a programme for implementing the recommendations in the Bichard Report. The Home Office is co-ordinating this programme, but it will involve all the Government Departments responsible for implementation agreeing a timetable and key milestones for the work. We are committed to achieving substantial progress across the range of recommendations by the time Sir Michael Bichard reconvenes his Inquiry in six months.
The current criteria of eligibility for Enhanced Disclosures have been under review. Proposals for revised criteria have been the subject of consultation and the results are being analysed. The recommendation that all posts working with children and vulnerable adults, including posts in schools, should be eligible for Enhanced Disclosures is being taken forward in the context of this review. Our aim is that new criteria should be in place by the end of the year.
Work to develop a national IT system for police intelligence is being undertaken as a key priority. It may well be two years before such a system is fully up and running. However, the work we have done with the police service to develop a strategic approach to the delivery of national IT infrastructure is already producing great progress. The Police Local Exchange (PLX) system, which indicates where forces hold intelligence on specific individuals, will be introduced as an interim solution by spring 2005. Taking into account projects such as the £500 million Airwave communication system, the new national DMA database and the investment we have put into the Criminal Records Bureau over the past three years, we have invested more than ever before. This commitment is further reinforced by the £600 million that we allocated from 2002 to the whole criminal justice IT system to improve links between the courts, policing and social services.
The other specific recommendations referred to are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. Officials in his Department are already in discussion with the National College for School Leadership about ways in which appropriate training might be developed for head teachers and governors to enable them to reflect the importance of safeguarding children when interviewing for staff appointments. It will be necessary to consider the practical issues associated with delivering additional training to many of the approximately 22,100 head teachers and a proportion of the estimated 350,000 school governors before making a commitment to a timescale for this to happen.
As regards handling information about cases involving known or suspected offences against children, the Department for Education and Skills will be writing to local authorities very shortly to reaffirm the existing guidance in "Working Together to Safeguard Children" and will set out how the relevant recommendations will be taken forward in the longer term.