Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to our Information Hub.

There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update on our Hub. There are also links next to many of the updates, which link to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other members of the forum.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act

• ‘Is it spent yet’ poster and ROA detailed guide – It’s been almost a year since changes were made to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and we have made some minor changes to improve our ‘Is it spent?’ poster which sets out details of the rehabilitation periods since the law was changed in March 2014. We’ve also integrated these tables into our ROA detailed guide.
• Long list of sentences and when they become spent– We have produced a list of current sentences and disposals, which sets out the length of time they take to become spent. This list builds on the poster and the detailed guide (details of which are set out above). If you think there are any missing on this list, please let us know.

Specific occupations and professions

• Local councillor – We’ve produced some information setting out the criteria for becoming a Local Councillor if you have a criminal record. More information can be found here.
• Member of Parliament – As the General Election gets closer, we though it would be useful to explain how the rules about becoming an MP in terms of criminal records are less limiting to those that apply to standing for election as a local councillor. Look here for more information.

Financial issues

• How do criminal records affect your credit rating – This new information looks at how to obtain a copy of your credit report and if/how a criminal record, particularly time in prison, could indirectly affect your credit score.  Do you have any personal experiences of this? Let us know by sharing them on the Forum.

Courts and sentencing

• Capital Contribution Orders (CCO) – Following posts on our Forum from individuals who have been contacted out of the blue by ‘bailiffs’ chasing monies outstanding under a Capital Contribution Order, we have set out details of the different types of order and provided links to further information.  Post your views about this on the Forum.

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to our Information Hub.

About criminal records

• Criminal Behaviour Orders – These were introduced in October 2014 replacing Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and can be made following a conviction. An order is additional to the sentence given for the criminal offence. More information can be found here.  Have you received one of these orders? Discuss this on our online forum.
• Convictions obtained overseas – We have updated our information on convictions obtained overseas, which explains the system for sharing information about criminal convictions between EU Member States, non-EU countries and the UK.
• Police Certificates – In response to enquiries about Police Certificates which state ‘No Live Trace’, we have set out some brief information explaining why this may be the case and, if the Certificate is for travel purposes, what you will need to do to get supporting information.
• Basic disclosures – If you’re applying for a job at a new company and it involves a basic disclosure, you might want to be aware that a high proportion of basic applications that employers apply for go via the ‘bulk electronic’ process which is likely to mean that although the disclosure will be addressed to you, it will be sent to the employers address. This may result in the employer opening it, particularly if you have given your consent for them to do this. Other employers might simply request that you apply for the disclosure, but put their address down as the ‘care of’ address. This makes it even more important that you make sure that you find out about your criminal record before applying for specific roles, and being clear which ones are spent and which ones will come back on a basic disclosure. More information on basic disclosures here.  You can discuss this on our online forum.

The criminal justice system

• MAPPA – We often receive enquiries about disclosure of information to third parties from people who are subject to MAPPA. Details of how and when the police or probation may choose to disclose to third parties or family members can be found here.

Insurance

• We have updated our list of insurance brokers to add a couple of new brokers who can help people with unspent convictions.

Work and Volunteering

• Financial Services sector – There is often confusion around which roles within the financial services sector perform a ‘controlled function’ and would therefore be exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Some brief information and contact details for the FCA can be found here.
• Volunteering – A document produced by the Institute for Volunteering Research – ‘Helping young adults with offending histories volunteer’ can be downloaded from the ‘useful resources’ section of our page on volunteering.

We’re just writing to let you know that we’ve been doing some work to the back-end of the Information Hub.

One of the main changes is in the way that you find the information that you’re looking for.

We’ve done this by creating new ‘information sections‘ on the different subjects that the site covers, instead of relying on the automated sections that were created by the site. This is based on feedback we’d received which suggested that these automated sections were confusing and hard to find all of the information about a specific subject.

As a result, we’ve created dedicated information sections – these are all available here.

From these pages, you should be able to find links to all of the information that we have available on that subject.

To help people understand how to use the site, particularly since the recent changes, we’ve updated our user guide.

We hope you think it’s an improvement – either way, let us know what you think by sending us your feedback.

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to our Information Hub.

Disclosing to employers information series

• We’ve recently published an information series focusing on disclosing criminal records to employers. The series is designed to be brief and simple, summarising the key issues and providing further links to information available elsewhere on the Hub.
• In response to enquiries about self-disclosure ‘templates’ we have provided some examples of self-disclosure statements on the Hub. This is not the only way to disclose, but for those that decide this works for them, any statement you write should be tailored to a specific job vacancy and should be personal to your own situation. Have a look at our examples and hopefully they’ll give you some guidance when writing your own.

Enforced subject access

• The Ministry of Justice has recently announced that the change to the Data Protection Act which will make enforced subject access a criminal offence has been delayed. We had been expecting this to come into force on the 1st December 2014 but understand that due to technical issues it is expected to commence in early 2015. Keep checking the Hub for the latest news.

Guidance on Internet Search Results / Right to be Forgotten / Report concerns to the ICO

• On the 26th November, the Article 29 Working Party issued guidance on the interpretation of the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling on the ‘Right to be Forgotten’. The guidance, which the Information Commissioners Office was involved in producing, gives a good indication as to how the ICO will treat complaints that it deals with. We’re still looking at how this applies to people with spent convictions and are seeking cases where people have been successful in getting search results and/or online content removed. Those who have been unsuccessful should refer their case to the Information Commissioner’s Office, who have recently set up an easy to use ‘report a concern’ function on their website.

Travel to the USA

• We have published a new simple guide to travelling to the USA. This is a brief document which sets out whether you’re eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Programme and if not, how to apply for a visa. It should be used in conjunction with our detailed guide.

Based on feedback we’ve had since we launched the Hub just over a year ago, we’ve been working on trying to make it easier to find links to various sections of information we have on the Hub.

So today, as one of the steps towards this, we’ve published a BETA (test) ‘Disclosing to employers‘ section.

With this new section, we’re testing the idea of ‘landing pages’ for specific issues; we’re planning to develop other areas of the site in a similar way in early 2015.

Please let us know what you think to this page by completing a feedback form or providing some comments on our online forum. Does it work? Is it useful to have a summary like this? How could it be improved?