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Croydon Council set to end blanket criminal records checks for elected officials
Councillors in Croydon will no longer be automatically subject to criminal records checks under plans being considered by the council.
Currently all elected members are subject to the checks because they are involved, to varying degrees, in drawing up and implementing polices concerning education and vulnerable adults.
However, changes brought about by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which merged the Criminal Records Bureau and the Independent Safeguarding Authority into the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), have prompted the council to rethink its policy.
The law scaled back the number and type of positions or circumstances subject to records checking. They are now only required for people who have close and unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable adults.
Previously it specifically included councillors who "discharged functions" relating to education or social services, such as cabinet, committee or sub-committee members. Croydon Council currently requires those councillors to undergo an enchanced criminal records check while all others are subject to a basic assessment because they may be asked to stand in on those discussions when others are absent.
While the most do not have unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable adults, a report to be discussed by the council's Ethics Committee on Monday said the policy "was considered to create public confidence in situations where elected members might visit care homes, schools, clubs or other settings".
Checks cost up to £44 each and can take around four weeks to complete depending on the detail requested.
The committee will consider whether to do no checks at all - as this is no longer a statutory requirement - or "targeted" checking on specific councillors responsible for social services and education.
The list of potential positions includes the leader and deputy leader of the council and the members of a number of committees including Children and Young People, Health Social Care and Housing, and the Health and Wellbeing Board.
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