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Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill [Lords]

The safeguard that the amendment introduces could be exploited by someone to get into schools or work closely with vulnerable adults. Let us take as an example a barred person who did not intend to mislead their employer. Perhaps they still want to work with children, so they find an employer who knows they are barred to collude with. Under the amendment, the individual would not be committing an offence. That would be the consequence of the hon. Lady’s amendment. Are Opposition Members aware that the current offence for a person on the POCA or POVA list applies if the individual seeks to work in a regulated activity at present? Perhaps they do not think it should. It would not be helpful to introduce an element into clause 7 that is based on the individual’s intention to mislead. It does, though, remain essential that an individual who does not know they are barred, or could not reasonably be expected to know, is not criminalised for seeking to engage in regulated activity. Far from providing a level of protection for barred people, to remove this defence in the way suggested by the second amendment would introduce a real risk that they would be unfairly criminalised.