Local councils across the UK have started to carry out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on councillors elected to serve their local area, but DBS checks do not apply yet to those wanting to work in Parliament as a MP. A new proposal from a Labour MP is designed to change this by requiring all incoming Members of Parliament (MPs) and members of the House of Lords to undergo criminal record screenings.
Jo White, a Labour MP, has submitted a letter to the Commons leader asking for mandatory DBS checks for newly elected MPs and Lords. The Labour MP recommends that comprehensive background screenings by the DBS be integrated into the current onboarding process for new members of Parliament.
Currently, anyone who has served a prison sentence exceeding of a year or more is ineligible to stand for election as an MP. However, there is no requirement for DBS checks, a standard process in many other professions that involve working with vulnerable groups. MPs campaigning for the changes have pointed out that many of the duties of a MP involve going into schools, hospitals or care homes and dealing with vulnerable groups.
Asking anyone elected to Parliament to have DBS checks would not only protect the members of the public MPs come into contact with, but would also uphold high standards within Parliament and the House of Lords.
The current approach into criminal records checking has highlighted big differences in approaches across various positions. While many local Councils already carry out these checks for local councillors, Parliament lacks a standardised approach. Candidates with criminal records or those listed on child or adult barred lists can stand for election, provided they haven’t served over a year in prison. Moreover, there is no obligation for candidates to publicly disclose any criminal history before their candidacy.
DBS Checks and MPs With A Criminal Past
The vetting process currently relies on political parties, each of which has their own rules for determining which candidates are suitable. This issue has sparked controversy, particularly with recent cases like that Louise Haigh, who served as Transport Minister until her conviction for fraud in 2013 came to light. Although senior party officials were made aware of the matter, the people who voted Ms Haigh into parliament were not told about previous offences. Under the proposed regulations, new MPs would be required to fully disclose any criminal convictions.
In order to start carrying out enhanced DBS checks on all people standing for parliament in an election, the government would have to vote through changes to the law as being a MP doesn’t currently fit into the definition of regulated activity. There is also a substantial cost and time implication to widening the groups involved in DBS checking, especially as the timescale between an election being announced and candidates being confirmed is very tight. There does seem however to be a general move towards requiring at least some sort of criminal record checking for elected MPs, whatever format this takes.
