Category: News on policy issues

Youth justice review recommends reformed criminal records system for children

“A reformed criminal records system for children”

That’s the recommendation of Charlie Taylor, whose review into youth justice was published today.

In a wide-ranging review, there’s a specific section on criminal records (pages 25 and 26).

He proposes that the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office should:

“Develop a distinct approach to how childhood offending is treated by the criminal records system. (Paragraph 85)
This should include:

consideration of distinguishing between under-15s and 15-17 year olds in terms of the retention and disclosure implications of offending; (Paragraph 86)
further reductions in the periods before which childhood convictions become spent; (Paragraph 87)
all childhood offending (with the exception of the most serious offences)
becoming non-disclosable after a period of time; (Paragraph 88) and
the circumstances in which police intelligence on childhood conduct can be disclosed being further restricted. The Home Office should consider the introduction of a presumption that police intelligence dating from childhood should not be disclosed except in exceptional circumstances. (Paragraph 89)”

In its response, the government said:

“We recognise that criminal records in childhood can impact on future life chances. However, there are a number of cases before the courts in relation to disclosure policy as it currently stands. We also look forward to the findings of the current inquiry being carried out by the Justice Select Committee in this area. We intend to work with the Home Office to consider these and the Taylor Review’s recommendations more fully following the Court’s judgement.”

Christopher Stacey, Co-director of Unlock, said:

“We very much welcome the proposals for reform to childhood criminal records that Charlie Taylor has set out in his report. We encourage the government to undertake proactive work in making these recommendations a reality. The ongoing legal cases challenge a narrow aspect of the system and could be settled if the government withdrew its appeal against the January 2016 ruling in the High Court. Regardless of this, there is a pressing need for work to be undertaken in the meantime, ready for when the Court of Appeal makes it judgement in 2017, and we stand ready to work positively with government on this important issue.”

Useful links

We submitted evidence to the review in May 2016
The review, alongside the government’s response, can be downloaded from Gov.uk.

Our evidence to the Justice Committee inquiry into Youth Criminal Records published

Our written evidence to the Justice Committee’s inquiry into the disclosure of youth criminal records has been published on the Parliament website.

Alongside a number of recommendations, we’ve included five anonymous personal experiences. Next week, we’re taking a small group of people to Westminster to share their personal stories with MP’s on the Committee.

The specific details of the inquiry are here

There are more general details about the work of the Justice Committee here

Delay to introduction of rules on charity staff and trustees with criminal convictions

Today Civil Society has published a piece on the extensions to rules disqualifying trustees and senior managers as a result of criminal convictions.

A Charity Commission spokesperson is quoted in the article, stating that:

“these changes will have significant impact on some individuals and we have always been clear that charities and affected individuals must have enough time to prepare for these changes properly. In order to do so fully, we are working with the Office for Civil Society to set a commencement date later in 2017.

“We consider that this should not before September and are hopeful that this will be agreed. We continue to work with a number of umbrella bodies and rehabilitation charities as we further develop these plans to ensure that charities, trustees and senior staff members have all the relevant information and enough time to take the appropriate steps.”

The original plan of government was to introduce these changes in April 2017.

We are pleased that the government and Charity Commission have listened to the concerns that we’ve raised by delaying implementation. We continue to have principled objections to a number of aspects of the new legislation, in particular the extension of the framework to senior managers and the inclusion of certain spent convictions and people on the sex offenders register. These changes are unnecessary and will be an ineffective way of protecting charities.

A delay to implementation will enable the government to carry out the proper impact assessment of these proposed changes that it has committed to do, so that this can be considered as part of the implementation process. It will also give the commission the time it needs to produce clear guidance on the new framework and establish a sensible waiver process. The retrospective impact of these changes means that the commission needs time to support both charities and individuals affected and ensure that individuals are able to obtain waivers ahead of these changes coming into force.

We understand that the commission remain committed to raising awareness and publishing guidance at least 6 months in advance of any changes coming into force. We’ll be keeping our policy section updated as this progresses.

Are you disqualified from acting as a charity trustee or senior manager?

The Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 means people with unspent convictions for specific offences, as well as those on the sex offenders register are automatically disqualified from acting as trustees or senior managers.

As a charity that exists to support the efforts of people with convictions in moving on positively with their lives, and as an organisation which itself seeks to recruit trustees and leaders who themselves have convictions, we are concerned about the impact of this. Ultimately, we think that the changes brought in by the 2016 Act are disproportionate and an ineffective way of protecting charities.

You are likely to be affected if you:

have unspent convictions for dishonesty-related offences, deception-related offences, money laundering or terrorism-related offences

are on the sex offenders register.

We’re gathering evidence from people who are impacted by the disqualification rules.

What we need from you

If you have are automatically disqualified from acting as a trustee or senior manager because of your criminal record and have been (or will be) affected by the rules in some way, contact us at policy@unlock.org.uk using the subject header ‘Call for evidence: CC disqualification’.

Please include:

Your name
Contact details (email and telephone) and how you’d like us to contact you
Details of your criminal record
Information on how the disqualification rules have affected you – did you have to give up a position you were already in? Have you applied for a position but been turned down by the charity?
Have you applied to the Charity Commission for a waiver – and were you successful?
What you think should change
Whetther you would be willing to take part in publicising this issue (this is for our reference, we won’t share your details with others)

Any information you provide will be kept in line with our confidentiality policy. Any personal information provided to us will not be shared externally without your consent.

Find out more about how we handle your data.

New briefing on the Charities Act 2016 – disqualification of senior managers and trustees with convictions

In 2017 we expect the new disqualification powers under the 2016 Charities Act to start.

These powers allow the Charity Commission to disqualify people (i.e. prevent them) from holding senior management positions, or from being a trustee of a charity, if they have certain criminal convictions – and a new waiver application process.

Unlock, Clinks and the Prison Reform Trust pushed for changes to the legislation, and we continue to work with Charity Commission and government on how these new powers might impact people with convictions, the charity sector, their current and future employees and trustees.

Both voluntary organisations and people with convictions need to understand the impact of this legislation; that’s why we will be producing guidance in early 2017. This new briefing, published jointly with Clinks, summarises what the disqualification is, some of the issues we have with it, and what we’re doing to support both people with convictions and the charity sector.

We’re keen to hear from people who will be personally affected by the changes when they come into force. Take a look at our questions to help understand if you’re affected, and how to get in touch with us.

You can find out more details about the work that we’re doing on this issue on our dedicated policy page.

Westminster Hall debate about DBS performance

Yesterday there was a Westminster Hall debate, brought by Helen Hayes MP, about the performance of the Disclosure and Barring Service.

In particular, Ms Hayes highlights:

There are harder cases, including my constituent who is an ex-offender and has found it very difficult to find work. In May 2016, he was offered a job that he was keen to take up. He contacted me about the delay in processing his enhanced DBS check. Despite my office contacting the DBS a number of times and receiving assurances on three occasions that the case had been escalated, my constituent is still waiting for his DBS check more than five months later and the rare offer of employment has been withdrawn. When people are doing their very best to do the right thing and to turn a corner in their lives and move on, it cannot be right that the Government are placing an unnecessary barrier in their way.

You can read the debate in full.

Justice Committee inquiry into youth criminal records – have your say!

We’re pleased that, after joint efforts by Unlock and the Standing Committee for Youth Justice (SCYJ), the Justice Committee has launched a short inquiry into the system governing the disclosure of criminal records in relation to offences committed by people when under 18 years old. Given the Committee’s recent inquiry into young adults in the criminal justice system, the Committee also welcomes views on whether the regime governing disclosure of such criminal records should be extended to apply to records of offences committed by older people, for example up to the ages of 21 or 25.

The inquiry is an opportunity to build on the work we’ve been doing with the SCYJ as part of the ‘Growing up, moving on’ campaign, which was launched in April 2016.

It’s also a good opportunity to explain the disproportionate impact that criminal records have on people that obtain them in early adulthood, and to make the case for this to be reflected in the way disclosure laws operate.

In particular, the Committee welcomes written submissions on:

The appropriateness and effectiveness of the statutory framework applying to the disclosure to employers and others of criminal records relating to offences committed by people when under 18 years old
whether that framework and the way in which it is operated in practice strike an appropriate balance between protection of employers and the public, on the one hand, and the rehabilitation of people committing offences when young, on the other hand
the effects in respect of the disclosure of such records of changes made in 2013 to the filtering of offences from criminal records checks and in 2014 to rehabilitation periods.

The deadline is Friday 11th November 2016.

What can you do?

It’s important that as many individuals and organisations put forward their evidence, comments and experiences on the disclosure of youth criminal records. This is the best way to help the Committee to understand the extent of the issue.

In particular, we think it’s extremely important that the inquiry receives evidence from those people with personal experience of having a criminal record from when they were young. For those who find that it continues to hold them back, or created a significant barrier to them moving on, these personal stories can help MP’s on the Committee to understand the problem and identify what needs to change.

We’re in the process of putting together a response, so if you’re planning to submit evidence to the Committee, please let us know and send us copies of the evidence you submit. Email policy@unlock.org.uk.

Further information

Details about the Justice Committee inquiry are on the Parliament website.

Details about our policy work on rehabilitation periods.

Details about our policy work on filtering.

We give evidence to Parliament Committee on support for ex-offenders

Today Unlock, alongside Working Chance, Clinks and Revolving Doors Agency, gave oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee inquiry into the support for ex-offenders. We were invited to give evidence following our written response to the inquiry.

At the session, Christopher Stacey, Unlock’s co-director, responded to questions focused on employment support, job centre staff and the approach of employers towards people with criminal records.

Watch the evidence session on Parliament TV.

We also supported the Committee by producing and circulating a survey amongst people with convictions. This received 82 responses, all of which were shared with the Committee.

We carried out an analysis of the survey results and submitted it to the Committee.

Download: Results and analysis of our survey

We submit evidence to House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion

As part of the House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion, we have submitted written evidence, focusing on financial exclusion issues where a criminal record per se causes a problem.

Download: Unlock’s written evidence to House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion

You can find out more about the Select Committee on the Parliament website

Our response to the Charity Commission’s consultation on power to disqualify from acting as a trustee

We have today published our response to the Charity Commission’s consultation on power to disqualify from acting as a trustee

Background

In May 2016, the Charity Commission launched a consultation on power to disqualify from acting as a trustee.
Download: Submission: Unlock’s response to Charity Commission consultation on power to disqualify from acting as a trustee
More information about our policy work on enabling people with convictions to become trustees and run charities