What now for deprivations of liberty?
What will the effect of the postponement of the Liberty Protections Safeguards be on local authorities? Local Government Lawyer asked 50 adult social care lawyers for their views on the potential consequences.
SPOTLIGHT |
The government has announced the content of the forthcoming Protection of Freedoms Bill, which will significantly reduce the scope of the Vetting and Barring scheme and lead to the merger of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority.
The merged body will be responsible for providing a more "proportionate" checking service for those adults that come into contact with children, which will see many of the 4.5m adults covered by the previous scheme removed from the need for checks. Those in regular contact with children will continue to be vetted, but many who do occasional, supervised volunteer work will not.
The bill promises a "portability of criminal records checks between jobs to cut down on needless bureaucracy" and to stop "employers who knowingly request criminal records checks on individuals who are not entitled to them". Job applicants will also be able to see the results of their criminal record check before their prospective employer so mistakes can be corrected.
The changes follow a review of the vetting and barring scheme initiated in June last year and coincide with the publication of the review's findings. A copy is available online at the following link: Home Office VBS Report.
The recommendations of the review, which are expected to be included in the bill, include:
Children's Minister Tim Loughton said: "The new system will be less bureaucratic and less intimidating. It will empower organisations to ask the right questions and make all the appropriate pre-employment checks, and encourage everyone to be vigilant. Protecting children and keeping them safe remains our top priority, but it's also important that well meaning adults are not put off working or volunteering with children."
The forthcoming bill will also contain measures to restrict the investigative and monitoring powers available to local authorities and crime prevention agencies. These include the introduction of a code of practice for CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition Systems to make them more proportionate and effective, and the right for any member of the public to refer a local authority for judicial review if their cameras are being used inappropriately. A new Security Camera Commissioner will ensure public bodies abide by the new code of conduct, reporting annually to Parliament and naming and shaming organisations using their cameras inappropriately.
Home Secretary Theresa May said: “The first duty of the state is the protection of its citizens, but this should never be an excuse for the government to intrude into people’s private lives. I am bringing common sense back to public protection.”