Protection of Freedoms bill scales back employment vetting
The Government has scrapped the background vetting scheme that
required more than nine million people to undergo record checks, in
a bid to cut down on state bureaucracy.
Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said that the halting of the
scheme would bring to an end a "13-year assault on hard-won British
freedoms". Checks will now only be required on people working most
closely with children or vulnerable adults, and the results will be
able to be transferred between employers when people move jobs.
The changes have been detailed in the Protection of Freedoms
Bill, which Mr Clegg said scales back what he saw the creeping
erosion of civil liberties that has been happening in recent
years.
Many people who routinely work or volunteer with children or
vulnerable adults will no longer be required to register with the
state before doing so. Mr Clegg said there would however be strict
provisions in place for the most vulnerable situations, to make
sure that safety was maintained.
The measures will also cut back on the extent to which DNA of
innocent people can be stored, as well as the measures that local
authorities have to monitor such issues as bin collections and
school catchment area disputes.
The new bill has been hailed by civil liberties groups, with
Daniel Hamilton, from campaign group Big Brother Watch, calling it
a "real victory for common sense".