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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Author: Unlock Admin

Looking back at 2018 – A month-by-month review of our work and criminal record developments

With the Christmas break almost upon us and 2018 coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the last 12 months and the developments relating to criminal records.

Once again it’s been an incredibly busy year for Unlock, with lots of positive news and progress to report in terms of the charity itself:

  1. We’ve continued to expand the information, advice and support we provide to help people overcome the stigma of their convictions.
  2. We have yet again seen large numbers of people accessing our helpline and websites. Building on last years’ unprecedented rise, our helpline will have dealt with around 8,000 enquiries this year. Our information site has yet again had over 1 million visitors and our disclosure calculator will have helped around 50,000 people work out when their convictions become spent.
  3. We’ve welcomed four new trustees and a full-time member of staff.
  4. We’ve started a whole new programme of work around access to higher education.

As you can see in the month-by-month highlights below, there’s been some significant positive policy changes; UCAS made changes to the university application process by dropping the question about criminal records, and the ‘disqualification by association’ requirements in primary schools were finally scrapped.

But it’s not all been positive. There continues to be new and extended policies and practices that treat people with convictions unfairly and punish people long after they’ve served their sentence. We’ve had to grapple with helping individuals and charities respond to changes to the rules that apply to charities which impact on the involvement of people with criminal records. Our research on employer practices published in October showed how the vast majority of national companies continue to ask about criminal records on job application forms.

A significant amount of effort went into the Supreme Court hearing in June, where we formally intervened for the first time in our 18-year history to help challenge the Government’s claim that the current criminal records disclosure regime is fair. We are incredibly grateful to all those who donated to help us cover our legal costs. We’re still awaiting a judgment and that should come in the first half of 2019.

This all means that, now more than ever, it’s vital that we continue to work hard to provide support and a voice for people with convictions, so we look forward to yet another strong year in 2019 and we are grateful to those of you that continue to support our vital work.

On a practical note, our helpline will be closed for the Christmas holidays from 4pm on Friday 21st December and will reopen at 10am on Wednesday 2nd January 2019. Our information site has details on what to do if you have questions over the festive period.

In the meantime, on behalf of all the staff and the board of trustees, I would like to wish the people we help, our volunteers, supporters and funders a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.

 

Some highlights month-by-month

January – We published guidance and advice about the DBS’s newly introduced basic criminal record check.

February – Our blog about how enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks are not a panacea for safeguarding issues was published on the Huffington Post website.

March – Together with SCYJ, we wrote to the Justice Committee with concerns about how the Government had responded to their report on the disclosure of youth criminal records.

April – We launched a CrowdJustice appeal to help us cover the legal costs of intervening in the Supreme Court and raised over £17,000 (see June below).

May – We published A life sentence for young people – a report into the impact of criminal records acquired in childhood and early adulthood. And UCAS announced positive changes to the university application process that will benefit students with criminal records.

June – We were at the Supreme Court helping to challenge the Government’s claim that the current criminal records disclosure regime is fair.

July – After four years of campaigning, we were delighted that the government announced the scrapping of the disproportionate, unfair and ineffective “disqualification by association” rule for schools.

August – We published guidance and an online tool to help people affected by new legislation which automatically disqualifies some people from running a charity.

September – We published guidance for employers explaining that collecting information about criminal records at the initial application stage of recruitment is likely to be a breach of data protection law (GDPR).

October – We published A Question of Fairness – the results of our own research, showing that the vast majority of national companies continue to ask about criminal records on job application forms.

November – Our annual report for the financial year 2017-18 was published, providing full details of all our work, and spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Law in Action – “Should have a past block a child’s future?”

December – We started a new phase of research with a call-out to people of BAME backgrounds for examples of where their background has compounded problems with their criminal record.

 

Unlock speaks to Radio 4’s Law in Action – Should having a past block a child’s future?

Unlock talks to Joshua Rozenberg about the issues affecting those who receive criminal convictions in childhood. They also discuss the impending result of the Government’s appeal to the Supreme Court against a Court of Appeal decision which ruled that the current system of people having to declare old and minor records is unnecessary, disproportionate and unfair.

You can listen to the programme here or below.

 

Unlock Annual Report 2017/2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are delighted to publish the Unlock Annual Report 2017/2018.

We have achieved outstanding success at both service delivery and policy levels, reflecting the hard work and dedication of the Unlock team.

The report reflects how we have helped people with convictions by:

  • Providing direct support to individuals through our helpline and case work
  • Providing online support through our information hub, disclosure calculator tool, magazine, forum, and news/ update subscriber service
  • Operating a volunteering scheme to train people with convictions as helpline peer-advisors
  • Running training courses on criminal record disclosure for statutory, contracted, and voluntary service providers and practitioners who themselves support people with convictions.

We also report on the work we have undertaken to:

  • Challenge employment discrimination by working with employers to improve their policies and practices, and working with government departments and agencies to challenge the way they operate
  • Influence government, employers and others through evidenced research, consultations, strategic litigation, media work and campaigns.

None of this would be possible without the support, faith and generosity of our funders, donors and volunteers, to whom we extend our sincere gratitude.

You can download the Unlock Annual Report for the year ended 31st March 2018 here

Are you from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background and have a criminal record?

A criminal record can be a real obstacle in getting on in life. But what we don’t know is if people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups face additional barriers that white people don’t.

Unlock is an independent charity for people with criminal records. We’re collecting evidence that will help us to better understand the barriers that BAME groups face in terms of their criminal record.

Our focus is mainly on the issues that people face after they’ve received their criminal record. However, we’re also keen to identify any issues that BAME groups might face earlier on in the process of getting a criminal record that have an impact later on in terms of the criminal record and its consequences on them.

So what do we want to know?

We’re keen to hear from a range of voices, not just those that have been to prison. So, whether you’ve been to prison, given probation, fined or given a caution, we want to hear from you.

We’ve put together a short online survey for people with a criminal record – it should only take 10-15 minutes to complete, and all responses will be confidential and no personal details shared externally.

You can find out more details about the survey on our website.

If you know of people or organisations that might be interested, please share this with them.

Thank you for your support.

Almost three-quarters of national companies continue to ask about criminal records at job application stage, new research shows

Unlock has today published new research that shows the vast majority of national companies continuing to have criminal record declarations as a core part of their initial job application forms.

Marking the 5-year anniversary of the Ban the Box campaign, the findings reveal the extent to which national employers have failed to recognise the negative consequences of criminal record tick-boxes on application forms.

 

Commenting on the report, A question of fairness, co-director of Unlock Christopher Stacey said:

“We’re proud to have co-founded the Ban the Box campaign and it’s really positive that over 110 companies – including Barclays, Boots, the Civil Service, and Virgin Trains – have signed up so far, but this new research shows that it remains the case that asking about criminal records at application stage is the default approach for almost three-quarters of national, big name companies. It’s also worrying that around 1 in 5 of them are asking for information they are not legally entitled to.

 

“These findings are unsurprising – employers are asking about criminal records at application stage as a way of deselecting applicants. We know this approach has a chilling effect on talented applicants with a criminal record, many of whom never apply because they think they don’t stand a chance. In fact, evidence from employers who do recruit people with criminal records shows that they make reliable, hardworking and loyal employees. Employers who are open about their inclusive recruitment practices report a positive impact on their reputation.

 

“Yet the numbers of employers removing criminal record questions from their application forms is not increasing fast enough. Earlier this month Unlock published new guidance for employers which showed that collecting criminal records data at the job application stage is unlikely to be compliant with the GDPR and data protection legislation. Government, business and charities need to seriously consider how to accelerate the changes in employer behaviour that Ban the Box encourages. Unless significant progress is made, increasingly it seems that the only way to make sure employers remove the tick-box is by looking to put Ban the Box on a statutory footing.”

 

Responding to the findings, Jessica Rose, Ban the Box campaign manager at Business in the Community, said:

“Unlock’s work to unearth the recruitment practices of some of the country’s biggest private sector employers paints a stark picture of confusion and inconsistency when it comes to managing risk around criminal convictions. This results in people being unfairly excluded from work and many more believing that no one is willing to give them a chance. Employers need to grasp the nettle and implement Ban the Box, not just because it’s the right thing to do but because it will benefit their businesses and their communities.

 

“Some of the employers cited in this report already work with Business in the Community and other charities to support individuals into employment. This should give them the positive evidence they need to make the business case for changing their mainstream practices. We want to work with these businesses, alongside Unlock, to support them to put robust, fair and inclusive practices into place.”

 

We surveyed 80 large, national employers across eight sectors – supermarkets, retail, hotels, food and drink, construction, car manufacturing, utilities and communications and found that:

  1. 77 out of 80 employers had online application forms.
  2. Of those 77, 54 employers (70%) asked about criminal records on their application form.
  3. 80% of employers who asked about criminal records provided no guidance to applicants.
  4. 22% of employers asked about criminal records in a way that was either potentially unlawful or misleading. 
  5. Collecting criminal records data at application stage is unlikely to be compliant with data protection legislation.
  6. None of the employers surveyed provided information to applicants on why they collect criminal records data, or for how long it will be retained. Under the GDPR, employers who fail to provide this information are likely to be in breach of the law.
  7. None of the construction companies and only around half the car manufacturers in our survey asked about criminal records at application stage.

 

The findings of this report show that there is still a long way to go in encouraging employers to stop asking about criminal records on application forms. In the conclusion we explore the broader implications of this report, but to achieve a fundamental shift in recruitment practice and seeing Ban the Box as business-as-usual, we believe there are steps that both government and employers should take. That is why we make a number of recommendations to both government and employers, which can be found on pages 4 and 5 of the report.

 

Notes

  1. Unlock is an independent, award-winning national charity that provides a voice and support for people with convictions who are facing stigma and obstacles because of their criminal record, often long after they have served their sentence.
  2. There are over 11 million people in the UK that have a criminal record.
  3. The report can be downloaded here. A summary of the report can be downloaded here. The full list of employers we surveyed, along with the questions they ask, can be found in the Annex.
  4. The report has been produced as part of Unlock’s Fair Access to Employment project, supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
  5. Unlock runs the website Recruit! – providing advice and support for employers on recruiting people with convictions and dealing with criminal records fairly. Employers looking for further advice about this guidance can contact recruit@unlock.org.uk.
  6. For employers that want to sign up as a Ban the Box employer, please see bitc.org.uk/banthebox.

 

New guidance published to support employers with GDPR, data protection and processing criminal records in recruitment

Today we have published new guidance to support employers to ensure that their policies and practices on collecting criminal records data during recruitment is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The guidance makes it clear that collecting criminal records at the initial application stage is unlikely to be necessary and therefore in breach of data protection law.

 

Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said:

“Too often, employers overlook skills, experience and qualifications if an applicant declares they have a criminal record. Yet over 11 million people in the UK have a criminal record. The GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 make it clear that asking about criminal records must be necessary – if it isn’t necessary, it isn’t compliant.

 

“This guidance makes it clear that the current common practice of many large employers of asking about criminal records at the initial application stage needs to change to ensure compliance with data protection law. That’s why we’re strongly encouraging employers to no longer ask about criminal records at application stage. However, fair recruitment is about more than just removing a question. Employers are required to justify why they are asking about criminal records at any stage in the process, and we recommend employers to use this as an opportunity to think about whether they need to ask about criminal records at all and, if they do, how they manage the process so they don’t miss out on talented and qualified applicants with previous convictions.

 

“Proactive recruiters report that employees with convictions are more productive and more loyal than average. We hope that this guidance helps employers to review their approach towards criminal records and ensure that if information is collected, it is used fairly and only where necessary.”

 

Jessica Rose, Ban the Box campaign manager at Business in the Community, said:

“Unlock’s straightforward and practical guide for employers collecting criminal records data makes it clear that Ban the Box is the right approach for recruitment under GDPR. We urge employers to read the guide and to move any necessary questions about criminal convictions to later in the recruitment process. Once you’ve made the change we’d be delighted to have you join the growing movement of employers demonstrating their fair approach to the recruitment of people with criminal records through signing up to Ban the Box.”

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office, who Unlock worked closely with to produce the guidance, said:

“This is useful guidance that will help employers to review their policies and practices when requesting information about criminal records in recruitment. It is crucial that employers understand their obligations to data protection law and this guidance will help them to do this.”

 

The guidance sets out a three-stage process for employers to follow in determining if, when and how they should ask about criminal records. Key points of the guidance are that:

  1. Collecting criminal records at application stage is unlikely to be necessary and therefore in breach of the GDPR and the DPA18
  2. Collecting at any stage must be justified by a link between purpose and processing.
  3. You must identify a lawful basis for processing AND meet a condition of processing
  4. Applicants have data subject rights that must be upheld
  5. Explaining how you’ll uphold applicants’ rights is key to meeting the condition of processing

The full implications of the GDPR are still being embedded, but it is clear that data controllers must comply with data protection law. This guidance makes it clear what employers should be doing, and it is likely that individuals will look to challenge those organisations that operate policies and practices that do not comply.

This guidance is part of the practical guidance we provide via Recruit! – a website providing advice and support for employers on recruiting people with convictions and dealing with criminal records fairly. Employers looking for further advice about this guidance can contact recruit@unlock.org.uk.

We will shortly be publishing separate guidance for applicants on their data subject rights and how to challenge unfair or unlawful practice where they encounter it.

 

Notes

  1. Unlock is an independent, award-winning national charity that provides a voice and support for people with convictions who are facing stigma and obstacles because of their criminal record, often long after they have served their sentence.
  2. There are over 11 million people in the UK that have a criminal record.
  3. Unlock’s website is unlock.devchd.com.
  4. The guidance is available to download at recruit.unlock.org.uk/dataprotection
  5. The guidance is for employers and voluntary organisations in England & Wales who collect, or plan to collect, criminal records data for recruitment purposes.
  6. For more information on becoming a Ban the Box employer, please see bitc.org.uk/banthebox
  7. Unlock are grateful for the advice and support received from the Information Commissioner’s Office in producing this guidance. Links to their guidance are embedded in the document and more information is available on their website. There is also a useful briefing produced by Nacro on data protection and the use of criminal offence data.

New criminal records guide and resources for recruitment agencies

Commenting on the launch today by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) of guidance and resources for recruitment agencies, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, the national charity for people with convictions, said:

“Recruitment agencies are an important source of job opportunities for people with a criminal record. That’s why Unlock was pleased to work with the REC to develop these good practice resources and encourage its members to support inclusive recruitment towards people with a criminal record. Expanding the candidate pool to include under-represented groups is good for individuals, good for business and good for the community. The vast majority of people with a criminal record want to leave their past behind and move forward in a positive way. Sustainable employment is key to that, and we know that employers who recruit people with convictions find them to be loyal, hard-working and reliable employees. We look forward to continuing to work with the REC and its members to put these resources into practice and help them to make the most of the skills and experiences that people with convictions can bring.”

The criminal records guide is designed to support and advise recruiters on best practice for candidates with a criminal conviction.

You can read a blog on the REC website about the launch, as well as download a 2-page infographic and read a checklist for recruiters, as part of the resources that have been published today.

Call for evidence: DBS checks which reveal trans/gender history because of gender-specific offences committed in the past

The current criminal record disclosure rules are unnecessarily harsh and disproportionate – they mean that standard and enhanced DBS checks continue to disclose old, minor and irrelevant offences that often happened decades ago. This means people can feel like they are effectively serving a life sentence for minor offences that they committed in their youth.

As part of our work on this, we’ve become aware of Helen’s* story, and we want to see if Helen’s problem is shared by others.

 

 

This is Helen’s story:

“I am a trans woman. I have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), by which I am recognised in law as female, “for all purposes”.

 

“In the late seventies, around 1979 to be precise, I was working at a club in Soho called The Golden Girl Club, also known as a ‘clip joint’, as a means to fund gender reassignment surgery which was not readily available on the NHS at the time. There was little tolerance for LGBT people among police officers working at West End Central who made it their mission to arrest and humiliate trans women. During this time, I was arrested on a couple of occasions for ‘importuning as a man’ – this essentially means ‘offering services as a prostitute’

 

“In 1980, I completed my gender reassignment survey and moved to America where I went back to university and lived there until the late 90s. In 2004, I completed a master’s degree in psychotherapy and counselling and up until 2011, worked in both a corporate environment as a HR professional and a small private practice.  In 2012, I left the corporate world completely and moved my career into the clinical field.

 

“Given the nature of my work, I am required to provide an enhanced DBS certificate that discloses my spent convictions for historical gender specific offences which I am required to disclose under the legislation due to the type of work I do which discloses my birth gender and my trans status.  Because I do not wish my gender history to be more widely known (and do not wish to disclose my trans status to employers), this has prevented me from applying for many roles and has forced me to stay in organisations that haven’t been in my best professional interest.”

(You might have seen that Helen’s story was covered briefly in The Sunday Times, Daily Mail and The Sun last weekend and early this week. Unlock was referenced as supporting her case, and we’ve copied below the comment we provided to the press at the time).

 

Are you transgender? And do you have a gender-specific criminal record that reveals your previous gender? Get in touch!

We want to hear from people who might have experienced similar issues to Helen. This will help us in our work to push for changes.

All information that is submitted to us is handled confidentially. We do not share personal details to any third-parties without the explicit consent of the person concerned. We are used to dealing with individuals who are quite rightly very protective about their personal data.We take our role of protecting confidentiality very seriously. Find out more here about our approach to collecting evidence of issues.

If you’re transgender and have a gender-specific criminal record, please get in touch with us by emailing (in confidence) policy@unlock.org.uk with the following details:

  1. Your name and date of birth
  2. Contact details (telephone or email) and how you would prefer to be contacted
  3. Do you have a Gender Recognition Certificate?
  4. Have you committed a gender-specific offence in the past which is now ‘spent’ (under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) but which you have been required to disclose under an enhanced DBS check because of the type of work you do?
  5. What’s the offence?
  6. Was this offence committed by reference to your birth sex, rather than your affirmed sex?
  7. Does your enhanced DBS certificate, therefore, reveal your trans status?

For more details on contacting us, click here.

 

The legal context to Helen’s story

The legal context to Helen’s story has been written by Claire McCann, barrister at Cloisters

Nearly forty years ago, Helen was convicted on two occasions of the offence of ‘man importuning’ under s32 of Sexual Offences Act 1956.  At the time, she was only 18 and 19 years old and, in law, she was male.  She has since acquired legal recognition of her female gender by way of a Gender Recognition Certificate.

A few years ago, Helen applied for a job as a counsellor which required her to obtain an enhanced DBS certificate. This is because she was applying for a specified position of trust which engaged the obligation to obtain an enhanced DBS certificate which, in turn, disclosed all convictions (whether or not spent), unless the spent conviction was protected from disclosure (as a result of the statutory filtering regime which came into force in May 2013).

When the DBS certificate was provided to Helen’s employer, she suffered the humiliation of being asked why male-specific convictions were disclosed on the certificate and she had to explain her gender history. In this way, she was “outed” as trans, something which she had not chosen to disclose to her employer or work colleagues. This experience has discouraged Helen from applying for other work.

The convictions for ‘man opportuning’ cannot be “filtered” or otherwise “disregarded” by the DBS when determining what must be disclosed on her enhanced certificate. This is because the filtering regime created under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2013 does not apply to specified offences (and s32 of Sexual Offences Act 1956 is such a specified offence).

Helen has asked the DBS to delete or amend the wording of her convictions on her enhanced certificate (for example, if they were described as “importuning” or “soliciting”, this would not reveal her gender history) but has been told that the DBS does not “own” the data held on the Police National Computer which is, in fact, “owned” by the relevant police force.  Helen, therefore, asked the Early Deletion Unit of the relevant police force to delete or amend the wording of her convictions but her request has been refused on the basis that the convictions do not fall to be “filtered” and the information on the PNC is a matter of historical record and so cannot be amended.

Helen is, therefore, stuck with a DBS certificate which will continue to reveal her trans status.  She, therefore, wishes to challenge the legality of the statutory regime because, unless it is amended, she is forced to either remain in her current workplace or to disclose her trans history should she choose to apply for roles elsewhere.  This constitutes a severe and discriminatory interference with Helen’s right to respect for her private life, contrary to Articles 8 and 14 of European Convention on Human Rights.

Unlock is looking for examples of where the DBS “filtering” does not go far enough.  Helen’s is one example but please get in touch if you have suffered a similar experience.

 

Unlock’s position

The comment that our co-director, Christopher Stacey, gave to the Sunday Times is below, and this explains our position on this issue. We hope that by sharing Helen’s story and putting out this call for evidence, any other people that have suffered from a similar situation to Helen will be able to come forward and help us address this problem.

“The current criminal record disclosure rules are unnecessarily harsh and disproportionate – they continue to disclose old, minor and irrelevant offences that often happened decades ago. This means people can feel like they are effectively serving a life sentence for minor offences that they committed in their youth. We are calling for reforms to the system, and we would expect this to include removing certain old, minor and irrelevant gender-specific offences.

 

For more recent and more serious gender-specific offences, there does not seem to be the flexibility within the current system to still disclose the details of the offence whilst protecting the gender status of the individual. For those who have since acquired legal recognition of a different gender, this clearly raises significant issues for the individual concerned as it serves to disclose their gender history, thereby “outing” them as transgender. We would encourage the government to look at what can be done to resolve this issue.”

If you’re transgender and have a gender-specific criminal record that reveals your previous gender, please get in touch (see details above).

 

* Helen is not her real name – it has been changed in this post to protect her identity

Unlock launches pilot project, supported by the UPP Foundation, to help universities take on students with criminal records

Unlock, an independent charity for people with convictions, has launched a new pilot project, funded by the UPP Foundation, the registered charity founded by University Partnerships Programme (UPP).

The project, Unlocking students with conviction, will see Unlock working with three UK universities – Cardiff University, Goldsmiths and the University of Southampton – supporting them to implement best practice procedures to prevent talented applicants being held back by their past and ensuring universities don’t miss out on untapped potential.

It will ensure that more people with convictions are able to access, and benefit from, university education – not just for themselves, but for their families, communities and for society at large.

Inception of the project comes following the decision by UCAS to remove the criminal conviction declaration box for applicants to the 2019 entry cycle, with universities looking at how to amend their admissions practices to reflect the change.

Over 11 million people in England and Wales have a criminal record and every year there are 1.2 million new convictions. The vast majority of convictions – more than 90% – do not involve a prison sentence. Unlock support thousands of people annually who face stigma, discrimination and ongoing disadvantages long after they have served their conviction. Many people choose not to apply for jobs, training or education if they know they will be asked about their criminal record.

The growth of partnerships between prisons and the university sector has renewed the belief that higher education is inclusive and can transform lives – raising the educational aspirations of people with criminal records. Evidence shows that education at every level has a huge impact on reducing reoffending, keeping us all safe.

Alongside working with the three institutions, Unlock will also be working with UCAS to disseminate good practice resources developed for institutions, as well as encouraging other universities to review and improve their policies and procedures.

Commenting on the project launch, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said:

“We’re pleased to have the support of the UPP Foundation in launching this pilot project. Unlock has seen first-hand how people with convictions have been put off from applying to university. If universities are committed to widening participation, they should be considering the qualified applicants from all backgrounds. The decision by UCAS to remove the main criminal conviction box from the UCAS form for those applying to start university in 2019 signals to universities that criminal records shouldn’t feature in their assessment of academic potential.

 

“At a time when institutions are rightly looking to amend their policies and procedures, we look forward to working with these universities to support them in implementing best practice procedures, as well as encouraging other universities to do the same.”

Richard Brabner, Director of the UPP Foundation, said:

“We believe that everyone with the potential and ambition to go to and succeed at university should have the ability to do so.  The UPP Foundation is delighted to be working with Unlock to ensure more students with criminal convictions can access higher education, transforming their lives and supporting their transition back into society.”

 

Notes

  1. Unlock is an independent, award-winning national charity that provides a voice and support for people with convictions who are facing stigma and obstacles because of their criminal record, often long after they have served their sentence. Unlock’s website is unlock.devchd.com.
  2. The UPP Foundation is a registered charity that offers grants to universities, charities and other higher education bodies. In recent years, as higher education has expanded, the burden of paying for a degree has shifted towards the individual. This presents difficulties in maintaining the ‘University for the Public Good’, as well as ensuring there is greater equity in going to, succeeding at and benefiting from the university experience. The UPP Foundation helps universities and the wider higher education sector overcome these challenges. The UPP Foundation was created in 2016 by University Partnerships Programme (UPP), the leading provider of on campus student accommodation infrastructure and support services in the UK. UPP is the sole funder of the UPP Foundation. The UPP Foundation is an independent charity and all of its grants are reviewed and authorised by its Board of Trustees. The Foundation is supported by an Advisory Board. More information is available at the UPP Foundation website: www.upp-foundation.org
  3. There are over 11 million people in the UK that have a criminal record.
  4. Details about the Unlocking students with conviction project are available here.
  5. Details about the decision by UCAS are available here.
  6. For more information about the project, email university@unlock.org.uk.

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