| SPOTLIGHT |
Local Government Minister Simon Hoare has written to the leaders of unitary and upper tier authorities in England calling on them to adopt as best practice enhanced criminal record checks provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service for all councillors being considered for appointment to any committee which discharges education or social services functions.
The letter, which was also sent to Cllr Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Assocation, follows a recommendation in Simon Bailey’s Independent Review of the Disclosure and Barring Regime (18 April 2023) which concerned the eligibility of local councillors for criminal record checks.
The purpose of the Bailey review, commissioned by the Home Office, was to provide assurance to ministers about the effectiveness of the disclosure and barring regime in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
With specific reference to local authorities, the review made the following recommendation:
Recommendation 5: Local councillors
I recommend that an enhanced criminal record check is made mandatory for all councillors in Unitary and Upper Tier Authorities who are being considered for appointment to any committee involved in decisions on the provisions of children’s services or services for vulnerable adults. I accept that this would require legislation and therefore some inevitable delay, so I further recommend that these authorities are encouraged to adopt this procedure as best practice pending legislation.
In his letter Hoare said: “Government strongly supports the recommendation and I urge an enhanced DBS check to be adopted as best practice for all councillors being considered for appointment to any committee which discharges education or social services functions. Such roles are eligible for enhanced DBS checks, and it is within the power of relevant authorities to implement this best practice.
“My clear view is that there is reputational benefit in councils being both consistent and robust on adopting this best practice recommendation given the high profile of cases, rightly so, when things go wrong.”
Hoare said that in the meantime, the Government would keep under review the case for mandating enhanced criminal record checks for all councillors falling into the categories identified by Bailey’s recommendation.
The minister added: “I feel strongly that adopting as best practice enhanced DBS checks for all councillors serving on committees with responsibilities for children’s services or services for vulnerable adults is important to ensure public confidence in political representatives. I would be grateful if the content of this letter could be brought to the attention of those officers with responsibilities for these matters.”
