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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Author: Unlock Admin

Finally, ‘enforced subject access’ becomes a criminal offence

From tomorrow, 10th March 2015, a practice known as ‘enforced subject access’ will become a criminal offence, as section 56 of the Data Protection Act comes into force.

As we originally reported in an update to our Information Hub in June last year, this is an important step in making sure that employers and organisations don’t take part in the unsavoury practice of requiring individuals to provide a copy of their police records through their rights of subject access.

Today, to help people understand what this means in practice, we’re:

  1. Publishing brief guidance for individuals on our self-help Information Hub
  2. Providing a news update for employers, as well as brief guidance for employers and organisations
  3. Highlighting the technical guidance that the Information Commissioners Office has published.

Download our guidance on enforced subject access request for people with convictions

A more detailed news update is available on the main Unlock site.

Finally, ‘enforced subject access’ becomes a criminal offence

From tomorrow, 10th March 2015, a practice known as ‘enforced subject access’ becomes a criminal offence, as section 56 of the Data Protection Act comes into force.

As we originally reported in an update to our Information Hub in June 2014, this is an important step in making sure that employers and organisations don’t take part in the unsavoury practice of requiring individuals to provide a copy of their police records through their rights of subject access.

 

 

Today, to help people understand what this means in practice, we’re:

  1. Publishing brief guidance for individuals on our self-help Information Hub
  2. Providing a news update for employers, as well as brief guidance for employers and organisations
  3. Highlighting the technical guidance that the Information Commissioners Office has published.

 

Christopher Stacey, Co-Director  of Unlock, said; “Subject access is an important right of individuals to be able to obtain copies of their own criminal record. However, ever since the Data Protection Act came into force, there has been clear evidence of unsavoury practices where employers and others have abused this right by requiring individuals to use this route as a way of checking an individuals’ criminal record, which is a clear abuse, and bypasses the official disclosure regimes which have safeguards built into them.”

“The criminal offence that comes into force will finally give the Information Commissioners Office the tools that they need to deal with the problem. We’ll be monitoring the practices of employers and organisations, and where appropriate, we’ll be challenging those organisations. We also look forward to working closely with the ICO, so that this type of practice can be stamped out. We’re encouraging anybody who knows of practices like this to get in touch with our helpline”.

 

Employers – New criminal offence; make sure you check your recruitment processes!

Tomorrow, the 10th March 2015, a new criminal offence of ‘enforced subject access’ comes into force, which employers and organisations need to be aware of.

This news has implications on the recruitment processes of employers and organisations. In particular, it has an impact on those that ask individuals to obtain a copy of their police record, for example as part of the recruitment process.

To help to understand the practical implications of this news, and what employers should do, we’ve produced a simple guidance leaflet which explains this in more detail.

We have also produced guidance for individuals with convictions. A link to this, and more background information, can be found in our main news piece.

If you have any questions about this as an employer, you can contact us for advice.

New statutory guidance on disqualifications in schools recognises role of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act

Yesterday, the Department for Education published statutory guidance on disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006.

Most notably in their guidance is the clarity that we have been pushing for, which is the the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act applies to the ‘disqualification by association’ element.

This means that if you’re working in a role in a school which is covered by these regulations, you do not have to disclose the cautions or convictions of those that live or are employed in the same household as you, if they are spent. This applies regardless of the offence, so long as it is spent.

We have updated the practical guide we have on this site.

We have today also issued a press release which explains our broader policy view on this issue.

Press Release: New guidance for primary schools welcomed, but regulations still need to be scrapped

Following the introduction yesterday of statutory guidance by the Department of Education yesterday on disqualifications under the Childcare Act 2006, Christopher Stacey, Co-Director at Unlock, said:

“We very much welcome the new guidance. The Government has responded to a number of the issues that we, and others, had raised following their initial advice in October 2014.”

“In particular, we’re pleased that the statutory guidance makes it clear that schools should not be requiring employees covered by the regulations to disclose any spent convictions or cautions of those that live or work in the same household as them. Since the original advice, we have been inundated with people affected by confusion around this. It’s a genuine tragedy that hundreds of people have been unnecessarily suspended from their jobs because they’d been forced to disclose information that they didn’t need to. In one case, an experienced teacher was suspended from her job simply because she disclosed a theft conviction of her husband from nearly 30 years ago.”

“However, the statutory guidance is only one small step forward. How schools now apply this guidance will be important, to ensure that they treat people fairly and make it clear what they do and don’t need to disclose.”

“More importantly, serious questions still remain about the necessity of these regulations and what value they genuinely add to the protection of children. There is no reliable evidence showing that the system of ‘disqualification by association’ adds any value whatsoever, and we continue to campaign for the regulations to be scrapped from primary schools altogether.”

END

Notes to editors

  1. https://unlock.org.uk/contact-us/media-enquiries/Press/media
  2. Unlock is an independent award-winning charity, providing trusted information, advice and support for people with criminal convictions. Our staff and volunteers combine professional training with personal experience to help others overcome the long-term problems that having a conviction can bring. Our knowledge and insight helps us to work with government, employers and others, to change policies and practices to create a fairer and more inclusive society so that people with convictions can move on in their lives.
  3. Our website is unlock.devchd.com.
  4. For more information on our policy work on this, click here.
  5. For practical self-help information on this, we’ve updated a brief guide here.
  6. To discuss this issue on our online forum, click here to read and share your thoughts.

Joint Committee publish report on proposals to extend disqualification of trustees

Update – “In its report published today, the Joint Committee on the Draft Protection of Charities Bill backs proposals to give the Charity Commission more powers to ensure effective regulation of the charity sector. However the Committee is clear that effective safeguards must be in place to ensure charities and their trustees are treated fairly by the Commission.”

The report can be downloaded from the Parliament website.

In the report, the Committee has drawn on the evidence that we submitted in both oral and written evidence. In particular, see pages 56, 57, 64 and 72 of the report.

Unlock Co-director wins ‘Social Justice Campaigner’ Award

We’re delighted to report that our Co-director, Julie Harmsworth, has been announced as the winner of the ‘Social Justice Campaigner’ award at the SMK Campaigner Awards held in London last night.

The awards, run by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation and held at the House of Lords, are a celebration of people who demonstrate their commitment to and effectiveness in tackling the root causes of injustice and inequality, be it over the last year or over many years.

The Social Justice Campaigner Award was presented to Julie by Campbell Robb, CEO of Shelter, for her role in campaigning to make changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act that reduce the disclosure periods for people with convictions when they apply for things like jobs and insurance.

Commenting on the announcement, Julie said:

‘It’s such a great honour to be given this award. I share it wholly with colleagues at Unlock and all those who have supported our campaign to amend a law that effectively excluded people with convictions from becoming active, hard-working, law-abiding members of their communities.

 

‘After thirteen years of campaigning the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act was amended in 2014 and the effect was immediate. A reduction of the length of disclosure periods meant that 1.75 million people with would no longer face discrimination in getting a job or insuring their homes.

 

‘As one person wrote to us: “Thank you for all your persistence and perseverance for people like us who made a petty mistake when we were young and had to bear the consequences for such a long time. The changes means we can have a new beginning on a clean slate and have a fantastic future to look forward to and we won’t be held down. You have changed our lives for the better.”

 

‘Many of the issues that existed at the start of our campaign, still remain. We have much more work to do. Receiving the award will, I am certain, give us all an injection of renewed energy, and inspire us to continue to campaign and to stand up for what we, at Unlock, believe in.’

Linda Butcher, SMK’s chief executive said: ‘Sheila McKechnie was a campaigning force of nature – one of the most eloquent and effective campaigners of her generation. She stood up against inequality wherever she saw and heard it, campaigning to create lasting change throughout her life, notably in areas such as health and safety, housing and homelessness and consumer rights.

‘The SMK Campaigner Awards provide us with a unique opportunity to recognise and thank some of the inspiring, innovative and often courageous people who are speaking out to effect change. All of our winners this year are a credit to the causes and communities they serve and demonstrate the important role campaigners play within our democracy.  Congratulations to Julie for all her hard work and her well-deserved award.’

The 2015 awards were presented by author and broadcaster Muriel Gray and attended by politicians Zac Goldsmith and Victor Abebowale.

Want to support our campaign and policy work? Find out how to support us here

END

Notes to editors

 

  1. Unlock is an independent award-winning charity, providing trusted information, advice and support for people with criminal convictions. Our staff and volunteers combine professional training with personal experience to help others overcome the long-term problems that having a conviction can bring. Our knowledge and insight helps us to work with government, employers and others, to change policies and practices to create a fairer and more inclusive society so that people with convictions can move on in their lives.
  2. More information about the SMK awards is available at www.smk.org.uk/campaigner-awards/
  3. Our website is unlock.devchd.com.
  4. Want to support our campaign and policy work? Find out how to support us here.

Have you been blocked from working in probation/prison because of your criminal record?

You should be able to find out more about this below. Depending on your settings, you may have to click on this link.

‘Enforced subject access’ will become a criminal offence on 10th March 2015

We’ve learnt from the Information Commissioners Office that section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998 will be brought into force on the 10th March 2015.

This means that “enforced subject access” will finally become a criminal offence. As we explained back in June 2014 when this was first announced, this is an important development for people with convictions.

Although it doesn’t prevent employers and others from getting access to criminal records through legitimate means (such as a basic disclosure through Disclosure Scotland or a standard/enhanced check through the Disclosure & Barring Service, depending on the job) what section 56 does do is prevent the use of significant amounts of sensitive personal data that can be disclosed as part of a subject access request.

In the past, we’ve come across examples where employers, insurers, education providers and housing providers have required people provide copies of their police record by applying to the police and paying £10 for a subject access request. This type of request discloses all information held on the Police National Computer, including convictions and cautions that are spent, as well as allegations or other ‘local police information’. The introduction of section 56 on the 10th March 2015 will enable a clearer message to be given to any organisation that is found to be undertaking this type of practice.

We will be making some more details available once the changes come into force. In the meantime, the ICO has draft guidance available on their website about what this will mean in practice.

“Enforced subject access” will become a criminal offence on 10th March 2015

We’ve learnt from the Information Commissioners Office that section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998 will be brought into force on the 10th March 2015.

This means that “enforced subject access” will finally become a criminal offence. As we explained back in June 2014 when this was first announced, this is an important development for people with convictions.

There is more information about this news on our self-help information site.

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