Written question asked by Tim Loughton (Conservative) on Monday, 30 January 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 February 2006. It was answered by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Thursday, 16 March 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Child Protection

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department takes to check whether individuals employed to work with children in the NHS through employment by an agency have been (a) on her Department's list of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with children and (b) on the sex offenders register.

Answer: Full guidance on pre-appointment checks for national health service staff was issued by NHS employers in May 2005. The guidance covers the full range of checks required before appointments in the NHS can be confirmed, including checks with regulatory bodies (for professional staff), references, occupational health checks and Criminal Record Bureau checks. The guidance applies to all staff, whether directly employed by the NHS or not, including temporary agency staff and contractor staff and volunteers. Compliance with this guidance is monitored by the Healthcare Commission as part of the Commission's monitoring of the ““Standards for Better Health””, which include a standard for staff recruitment checks.

Secondary information