{"id":207462,"date":"2025-01-04T02:22:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T02:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/04\/parliament-urged-to-begin-mandatory-dbs-criminal-record-checks-on-new-mps-and-peers\/"},"modified":"2025-01-04T02:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-04T02:22:06","slug":"parliament-urged-to-begin-mandatory-dbs-criminal-record-checks-on-new-mps-and-peers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/04\/parliament-urged-to-begin-mandatory-dbs-criminal-record-checks-on-new-mps-and-peers\/","title":{"rendered":"Parliament urged to begin mandatory DBS criminal record checks on new MPs and peers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Parliament<\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

\n

MPs and peers could be forced to submit to criminal record checks under proposals submitted by a new Labour MP.<\/p>\n

In a letter seen by Sky News, Jo White urged the leader of the Commons to examine whether a new committee set up to modernise parliament should force all new members to have checks due to their access to young and vulnerable people.<\/p>\n

She suggests in-depth background checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service – commonly known as DBS checks – as the initial stages of introducing MPs to parliament.<\/p>\n

Candidates are currently banned from running to be an MP if they have been jailed for more than a year in the UK.<\/p>\n

However, there is no requirement for DBS checks, something most other jobs require when applying for positions working with vulnerable people.<\/p>\n

Ms White previously submitted an early-day motion on this issue, with cross-party signatures including 13 other Labour<\/a><\/strong> MPs supporting her motion.<\/p>\n

In her letter to the committee, the Bassetlaw MP writes: “It is a privilege that, as parliamentarians, we can work with local schools, care homes and hospitals, but we must be proactive in preserving this trust.<\/p>\n

“Implementing a mandatory check would protect both the people we visit and ourselves. It would be key to maintaining public trust and high workplace standards across the estate and in our constituencies.”<\/p>\n

DBS checks are standard practices for GPs, nurses, teachers and other professions. They let potential employers know if a candidate has a criminal record or is banned from working with children or vulnerable adults.<\/p>\n

Many local authorities already run DBS checks on elected officials but it’s not standard practice in parliament.<\/p>\n

Prospective MPs can stand for election despite having a criminal record or appearing on the child-barred list or adult-barred list unless they have served a prison term over 12 months.<\/p>\n

In fact, they do not need to disclose any criminal behaviour to the public prior to becoming a candidate.<\/p>\n

The main vetting process before entering the House of Commons is done through political parties, who set their own rules for carrying out any such checks.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n MP James McMurdock (right) was convicted of assaulting his then girlfriend in 2006. Pic: PA
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

None of the Reform UK MPs have signed the early-day motion and leader Nigel Farage<\/a><\/strong> said last election there was “no vetting” of candidates.<\/p>\n

This has already caused some controversy.<\/p>\n

One Reform<\/a><\/strong> MP, James McMurdock, was jailed 19 years ago for repeatedly kicking his then girlfriend<\/a><\/strong>, according to court documents disclosed by The Times.<\/p>\n

The South Basildon and East Thurrock MP attacked her in 2006 while drunk outside a nightclub and spent 21 days in a young offenders’ institution.<\/p>\n

He had not publicly disclosed the conviction and described it as a “teenage indiscretion” when asked about the incident last year.<\/p>\n

Under new rules, new MPs might have to fully disclose their criminal past.<\/p>\n

Read more from Sky News:
Musk ‘misinformed’ on grooming gangs – minister<\/a>
Nick Clegg to step down from Meta role<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The creation of a modernisation committee was a Labour manifesto promise and now sits as a cross-party group tasked with reforming House of Commons procedures and improving standards.<\/p>\n

The committee said it would not be commenting on submissions until it’s had time to fully consider all options, but is due to publish an initial report early this year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MPs and peers could be forced to submit to criminal record checks under proposals submitted by a new Labour MP. In a letter seen by Sky News, Jo White urged the leader of the Commons to examine whether a new committee set up to modernise parliament should force all new members to have checks due […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/07\/768x432\/skynews-nigel-farage-james-mcmurdock_6619676.jpg?20250103184215","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[6427,7575,20489,39949,1344,3321,8760,1541,3163],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207462"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207462"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207464,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207462\/revisions\/207464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}