Posted By peter gotch
Simon,
I find the extension of CRB checks to contractor personnel working at a school where they should not be alongside children to be rather disturbing with Human Rights implications.
This is the type of work that many ex-offenders may well be seeking, not least if their eg written communication skills are not good.
Government policy is to help ex-offenders to gain employment. See extract from "Breaking the Circle" in (rather long cut and paste below) unless there is good reason for enquiring into someone's past, eg "work with children" which is defined by reference to the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) Order and linked legislation (below)
Working for a contractor in such circumstances SHOULD not be compatible to "work with children" as defined (assuming proper measures are taken to segregate construction work from ongoing school activities)
Hence carrying out checks ostensibly for child protection reasons is directly discriminatory.
Peter
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/roareview/Breaking the Circle
A REVIEW OF THE REHABILITATION OF OFFENDERS ACT 1974
· Over a quarter of the working age population has a previous conviction
· The annual cost of crime is £60 billion
· Employment can reduce re-offending by between a third and a half
· But a criminal record can seriously diminish employment opportunities
We must break this circle
The review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) has looked at ways to ensure that the burden of the requirement to disclose a previous conviction is minimised for the very many ex-offenders who simply want the chance of lawful employment, while maintaining a requirement to disclose where there may be a particular risk of harm. The review has focused specifically on the requirements for disclosure to employers. There is no intention to constrain the use of criminal record information by the police and the courts.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975
Any work which is -
(a) work in a regulated position; or
(b) work in a further education institution where the normal duties of that work involve regular contact with persons aged under 18.
"regulated position" means a position which is a regulated position for the purposes of Part II of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000;
Section 36 of the 2000 Act defines this as
36. - (1) The regulated positions for the purposes of this Part are-
(a) a position whose normal duties include work in an establishment mentioned in subsection (2),
(b) a position whose normal duties include work on day care premises,
(c) a position whose normal duties include caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children,
(d) a position whose normal duties involve unsupervised contact with children under arrangements made by a responsible person,
(e) a position whose normal duties include caring for children under the age of 16 in the course of the children's employment,
(f) a position a substantial part of whose normal duties includes supervising or training children under the age of 16 in the course of the children's employment,
(g) a position mentioned in subsection (6),
(h) a position whose normal duties include supervising or managing an individual in his work in a regulated position.
(2) The establishments referred to in subsection (1)(a) are-
(a) an institution which is exclusively or mainly for the detention of children,
(b) a hospital which is exclusively or mainly for the reception and treatment of children,
(c) a care home, residential care home, nursing home or private hospital which is exclusively or mainly for children,
(d) an educational institution,
(e) a children's home or voluntary home,
(f) a home provided under section 82(5) of the Children Act 1989.
3) For the purposes of this section, work done on any premises is treated as not being done on day care premises to the extent that-
(a) it is done in a part of the premises in which children are not looked after, or
(b) it is done at times when children are not looked after there.
(4) The duties referred to in subsection (1)(c) and (d) do not include (respectively)-
(a) caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children in the course of the children's employment, or
(b) duties involving contact with children in the course of the children's employment.
(5) The reference in subsection (1)(d) to unsupervised contact is to contact in the absence of any responsible person or carer; and in this subsection, "carer" means a person who holds a position such as is mentioned in subsection (1)(c).
(6) The positions mentioned in subsection (1)(g) are-
(a) member of the governing body of an educational institution,
(b) member of a relevant local government body,
(c) director of social services of a local authority,
(d) chief education officer of a local education authority,
(e) charity trustee of a children's charity,
(f) member of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales,
(g) Children's Commissioner for Wales or deputy Children's Commissioner for Wales,
(h) member, or chief executive, of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.
(i)