"Independent Scheme Assurance Panel" report on ID cards published.

[Ian Batten]

On 12 May 08, at 0833, PeteM wrote:

> Ian Batten wrote  on 11-05-08 10:11:
> How do you cope with differing `spent
>> convictions' rules?  For example, we now know that Austria regards  
>> rape convictions more than ten years previously as spent: how would  
>> that play for an CRB check in the UK, enhanced or not?
>
>
> I do not know about others, but the UK system was designed to deal  
> with spent convictions by treating them the same as any other. It  
> returns all convictions (or convictions and suspicions in the case  
> of an enhanced check) no matter how old they are, and leaves it to  
> the applying organisation to apply ROOA.
>
> It is possible that this has been or is being changed, but it was  
> certainly true a year or so ago, and I suspect it still is.

I don't believe a disclosure certificate for general employment  
includes spent convictions.

A disclosure or enhanced disclosure certificate for occupations  
exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (children,  
vulnerable adults, pharmacy, finance, security, etc) does include  
spent convictions, because the employer is explicitly exempted from  
the Act for their decisions:

http://www.nacro.org.uk/data/resources/nacro-2007021302.pdf

It would obviously render the RoOA impotent if any random employer  
could obtain a list of spent convictions, but with a ``hey, don't make  
use of this!'' caveat.

If someone with a spent conviction is asked ``Have you ever been  
convicted of...'' they are legally allowed to say ``No'', unless  
activities which are covered by the exemptions are involved.

ian