Before talking about the amendments, I should first like to comment on online checks. A key feature of the new scheme is the facility for online checks, which will allow an individual’s up-to-date status to be checked quickly by prospective employers. The checks will be available to a wider range of employers than is the case at present, and will include private employers such as parents for the first time.

We have been consistent in underlining, as Sir Michael Bichard did, that the ultimate responsibility for deciding whether to employ an individual, must be the employer’s. It is our responsibility to ensure that there is reliable, clear information to help to support that decision, but the information provided by the vetting and barring scheme will be only one element in the overall judgment. That does not remove or replace the responsibility of the employer.

As the Minister for Children and Families said on Second Reading, in our work on the design of the  vetting and barring scheme, we explored some of the details involving the security and implementation of the online check facility, which led us to amend its design. First and foremost, we must ensure that employers and parents can access the information they need to inform recruitment decisions quickly, easily and reliably.

Showing explicitly via the online check that a person is barred would require elaborate security procedures. Given the sensitivity of the information, that would seriously obstruct the speed and ease of access of the facility.