New Clause 2
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill [Lords]
3:30 pm
Annette Brooke (Children & the Family, Cross-Portfolio and Non-Portfolio Responsibilities; Mid Dorset and North Poole, Liberal Democrat)
Again, the new clauses are probing. I wish to touch on other areas that we feel are not fully covered by the Bill. One gives power to organisations to refer cases to the IBB, and the other suggests that other organisations should have the duty to provide information on request. They both tackle the same area, and I seek a little more detail on the responsibilities and duties of those other organisations.
During debates in the other place, the Government clarified that under the Bill it would be possible for other bodies that do not have a duty to refer cases to the IBB to do so. Examples that have been mentioned in discussions include doctors, psychologists, some NGOs, Barnardo’s and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; they will obviously encounter cases in which they believe that an individual’s conduct is of concern, in that they pose a risk to children or vulnerable adults, and they may want to refer such cases to the IBB.
It would be helpful if the Minister were further to clarify the Department’s thinking on referrals. For example, will the criteria for such referrals be based on the criteria set out in clause 31 on referrals from local authorities, as the new clauses suggests? What might happen in terms of the IBB seeking more information from the referrer? Unlike local authorities, under clause 32, those other organisations have no requirement to provide prescribed information; the starting point might be for those bodies to provide information, but what happens if the IBB wants more information? That is how the new clauses are linked.
Finally, would organisations that refer conduct cases to the IBB outside the statutory scheme be able to avail themselves of the protections against damages set out in clause 42? Do the Government agree that bona fide referrals should be protected, as are those from local authorities? I should like clarification on that, because it could make referral either less likely or more likely. I await the Minister’s response.
I have gone through my questions rather quickly, and shall be happy to intervene on the Minister if he asks me to. I hope that he sees that the new clauses are two sides of the same coin, dealing first with an offer and then with a need on the part of the IBB to seek more information. We can imagine how that would happen; as MPs in our surgeries, we sometimes get a little information but need to know more about a situation before we can proceed.
I hope that I have put that into context and that the Minister will address the questions. I hasten to say that these are probing new clauses. The issue of organisations offering up information will be really important; it represents new territory beyond the confidentiality that we have had so much of in the past.