Schedule 3
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill [Lords]
5:45 pm
Annette Brooke (Children & the Family, Cross-Portfolio and Non-Portfolio Responsibilities; Mid Dorset and North Poole, Liberal Democrat)
I shall address only amendments Nos. 112 and 113. It is a long string of amendments, and I want to concentrate on our two amendments. They are quite complex but nevertheless important.
The amendments seek to address the concerns that I mentioned on Second Reading about the definition of “frequency”. I have great concerns about it. I have read closely the notes issued by Lord Adonis, and the more I read them, the more I become convinced that there are potential loopholes. If you will forgive me, Mr. Martlew, I will go through the matter in some detail, because I sincerely believe that there is a big potential loophole in the protection of vulnerable people.
It is important to consider the two amendments together and to see the need for flexibility, particularly in monitoring. A consequence of the Bill for flexibility in monitoring is that it could impose a huge administrative difficulty on organisations for one often limited contact. I understand that that is why the clause includes the rather tortuous “frequent and occasional”—to get the right balance so that it does not impose too much bureaucracy. Proportionality and balance are an issue, but if the loophole is present, one would have to err at the end of the day toward less flexibility. I shall consider some examples of what could happen.
It is possible, for example, that a barred individual who has harmed children and poses a risk could get access to regulated activity lasting less than a week. That is the main problem. As I read the suggested regulations, “frequently” could mean once every six months or once a month, but it must be less than a week. If that is accepted and the word “frequently” is included in the clause, I envisage that a holiday play scheme lasting five days could pose a real danger.
I have mentioned unregulated crèches, which again, for the most part must be unregulated. Nevertheless, if a crèche facility were provided at a week-long conference somebody could get quite involved with some of the children. I was particularly concerned when I thought about a youth group going away for a five-day camp. As far as I see it, the definitions here would allow a person who is on the barred list to be involved. It is a question of how much monitoring there is. I am not sure that I would be happy if someone on the barred list went away on a youth camp for five days. I hope that the Minister can be clear about the grouping of days within a week because that is where the concern arises.
I should like to move on to the definition of an occasional basis, which comes under clause 10, and whether a regulated activity provider may use a person not subject to monitoring. There is a problem again because, under the Bill, it is an offence for a barred individual to engage in regulated activity in a regulated position. However, more latitude is given to regulated activity providers who are not required to carry out a check under clause 10(4) when the contact is for less than a week or for less frequent intervals than once per month. That seems rather bizarre, because it is clear that a dangerous banned adult, let us say a paedophile who wishes to access children in certain settings, could exploit the loophole for the monitoring of posts of short-term duration. That might even be in the setting of a children’s home.
The two amendments are meant to be taken together. In a sense, the second amendment on the use of the word “occasional” is trying to loosen things up slightly. I should like the Minister to concentrate on our first amendment, which removes the term “frequently”. By taking a very drastic step, we would remove the possible loophole altogether. I hope that the Minister can look at this again because there is probably a way of closing that loophole in a less bureaucratic manner. I want to be assured that what I am pretty certain is a loophole is closed before the Bill reaches the statute book.