---

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill [HL]

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 143 and 144. I will speak also to the others in the group. These amendments relate to the operation of vetting and barring in the devolved Administrations. They will enable the Government to deliver the commitments that they have made to ensure that the vetting and barring scheme operates successfully across the United Kingdom. These commitments include that a person who appears on a barred list kept by the IBB or by Scottish Ministers will be barred from working with children or vulnerable adults across the entire UK, and that the relevant authorities across the UK will share information so that information that could lead to barring can be considered by the IBB or Scottish Ministers, as appropriate, regardless of where in the UK the information first came to light. Amendment No. 143 enables provision to be made in future to take account of forthcoming Scottish and Northern Ireland legislation. Scotland is making provision for its own vetting and barring scheme. Northern Ireland will make its own provisions, which will work in parallel with those in England and Wales and allow the IBB to make barring decisions about individuals living and working in Northern Ireland. Both the Scottish and Northern Ireland legislation will be finalised after the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill has completed it passage. Secondary legislation made under this new clause will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure if it amends provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill or confers a power to make secondary legislation. Amendment No. 153A responds to a recommendation by the Delegated Powers Committee. It will ensure that the order-making power in Amendment No. 143 is subject to affirmative resolution, whether it makes amendment to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill or to any other Act of Parliament. We are grateful for the committee’s thorough scrutiny of the Bill, and are happy to accept its recommendation in this regard. Amendments Nos. 179 and 188 provide that the IBB must not include a person on a barred list where Scottish Ministers have already made a decision whether to include the person on their list and the IBB has no new evidence. This will prevent a person from being considered for more than one jurisdiction’s list on the basis of the same information and therefore needing to go through different representation and appeals procedures in each jurisdiction. The intention is that the effect of inclusion on the Scottish, Northern Ireland, or England and Wales lists will be a bar from regulated activity across the UK. The amendments also give the Secretary of State an order-making power that he can use to ensure that a person is considered for listing by the most appropriate barring authority, rather than by the barring authority that happens first to become aware of information that could lead to listing. For example, we intend that if the IBB receives information about a person who is not subject to monitoring in England and Wales, but who is a member of the Scottish scheme, Scottish Ministers and not the IBB should consider new information on that person’s case. Amendment No. 190 provides that the Secretary of State must tell Scottish Ministers where the IBB includes a person on a barred list. This will allow Scottish Ministers to ensure that the person cannot work with either children or vulnerable adults in Scotland. Amendment No. 144 provides that certain powers to make secondary legislation, to the extent that they affect Wales, are to be exercised by the Welsh Ministers. These are powers that significantly cut across devolved matters, such as the requirements around checks for school governors. This clause also requires the Secretary of State to obtain the agreement of Welsh Ministers before exercising secondary legislation-making powers that provide for requirements and powers that will affect the National Assembly for Wales in its functions as an inspectorate. Amendment No. 191 provides that the IBB may provide information to Welsh Ministers relevant to their functions—formulating policy and monitoring delivery of that policy. These amendments will ensure that the vetting and barring scheme operates successfully across the UK and I commend them to your Lordships’ House. Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 143 and 144.—(Lord Adonis.)