Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

155: After Clause 120, insert the following new Clause— ““Disclosure of information about convictions etc. of violent abusers to members of the public (1) The responsible authority for each area must, in the course of discharging its functions under arrangements established under section 325 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, consider whether to disclose information in its possession about the relevant previous convictions of any violent abuser managed by it to any person deemed by the authority to be at risk. (2) In the case mentioned in subsection (3) there is a presumption that the responsible authority should disclose information in its possession about the relevant previous convictions of the offender to the particular member of the public. (3) The case is where the responsible authority for the area has reasonable cause to believe that— (a) a serious violent abuser managed by it poses a risk in that or any other area of causing serious harm to a particular at risk person, and (b) disclosure of information about the relevant previous conviction of the offender to the particular member of the public is necessary for the purpose of protecting the at risk person from serious harm caused by the offender. (4) The presumption under subsection (2) arises if the person to whom the information is disclosed requests the disclosure. (5) Where the responsible authority makes a disclosure under this section— (a) it may disclose such information about the relevant previous convictions of the offender as it considers appropriate to disclose to the member of the public concerned, and (b) it may impose conditions for preventing the member of public concerned from disclosing the information to any other persons. (6) Any disclosure under this section must be made as soon as is reasonably practical having regard to all the circumstances. (7) The responsible authority for each area must compile and maintain a record about the decisions it makes in relation to the discharge of its functions under this section. (8) The record must include the following information— (a) the reasons for making a decision to disclose information under this section, (b) the reasons for making a decision not to disclose information under this section, and (c) the information which is disclosed under this section, any conditions imposed in relation to its further disclosure and the name and address of the person to whom it is disclosed. (9) Nothing in this section requires or authorises the making of a disclosure which contravenes the Data Protection Act 1998. (10) This section is not to be taken as affecting any power of any person to disclose any information about a violent abuser.””