More than half of the 9 million people who have needed criminal record checks to work with children and vulnerable adults are to be freed from the burden under new legislation.
The move – part of the coalition government's plans to scale back Labour's "over-intrusive" vetting and barring scheme to "commonsense levels" – is included in the protection of freedoms bill, which is being launched by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg. It is designed to roll back "unwarranted state intrusion in private lives" through the use of CCTV, local authority surveillance powers and the police DNA database.
The decision to "very significantly curtail" the vetting and barring scheme will mean that only those in sensitive posts or who have intensive contact with children or vulnerable adults will need to be cleared and undergo criminal record checks.
It is thought this will affect about half the 9 million people currently required to register so they can be continuously monitored while working with other people's children or vulnerable adults .
The changes are expected to be introduced in about 18 months if, as expected, the bill reaches the statute book early next year.
