Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2006

My Lords, this order is apparently the first since 2003 to amend the coverage of positions, licences, bodies and proceedings which qualify for disclosure of spent conviction information. There is always a balance to be struck between encouraging the reintegration into society of ex-offenders as far as possible, and protectingthe public by lifting the confidentiality of spent convictions so as to minimise potential risks to the public. The Explanatory Memorandum assures us that every addition to the list has been, "““consulted upon within the industry affected””," and it would be a waste of time for us to second guess that process, which I take it covers non-governmental organisations with an interest in each particular industry. As an illustration, I imagine the Government will have consulted with organisations concerned with disability and the disabled about the proposal regarding the carers of vulnerable adults, when reports have surfaced recently that unsuitable people are being employed. I have been looking at the report of the inspection by the Healthcare Commission and Commission for Social Care Inspection of the authorities in Cornwall, in which they said that the scale of abuse was the worst that the inspectorates had come across. They found during the course of the investigation evidence of staff hitting, pushing and dragging people who are supposed to be in their care, as well as withholding food, forcing patients to take cold showers and so on. Obviously, the application of this order to those people is an absolutely essential safeguard for the people who are being looked after, and I hope that it will hope to improve the situation in authorities such as Cornwall. I noticed that the words ““contractor”” and ““sub-contractor”” are used in relation to the courts in paragraph 7 of the order. How can we ensure that any such persons are aware of their responsibility to check on their employees' antecedents? Will they be sent a notice drawing the relevant provisions of this order to their attention, and can the Minister say anything about how contractors referred to in previous orders have complied with their obligations? Finally, as regards proceedings in respect of a direction under Section 142 of the Education Act 2002, can the Minister say why this was not dealt with in the 2003 order, and whether she does not agree, especially bearing in mind her comment that exceptions have to be kept up to date, that bringing orders to Parliament every three years is too inflexible a way of dealing with situations that may require prompt action?