FairChecks submits evidence to government inquiry on youth unemployment

As part of the government’s inquiry into the causes of youth unemployment, FairChecks have submitted evidence showing the link between criminal records and youth unemployment.

The review, for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, will look into the drivers behind the increase of young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET).

A significant barrier that many young people face is the long shadow of a criminal record. Our submission to the inquiry highlights evidence that shows:

• The number of DBS checks is increasing (7.2 million in 2024-25) at a time when more employers (30%) are saying that they would automatically exclude a candidate who declared an unspent conviction.
• This disproportionality affects young people, with more checks being undertaken on young people (18-25) than other age groups.
• The majority of checks which revealed some form of childhood offence only revealed childhood offences. So in most of these cases, those who had offended as a child had not offended as an adult. Again this affects young people more as they are closer to the age of any childhood offence, and are there more likely to have an offence revealed on a DBS check.

We have therefore made recommendations to the inquiry to give more young people the opportunity to fulfill their potential. These include:

• Wiping the slate clean for childhood offences at a specific interval.
• No automatic disclosure of cautions.
• Short and suspended sentences be removed from Enhanced checks after a set number of years.

You can read our full submission here.

FairChecks is a movement led by Unlock and Transform Justice. Read more about FairChecks here.