ISA vetting to be watered down
Rules requiring about 11 million people working with children to register with a new agency and have criminal records checks are to be watered down.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls has accepted recommendations of a review he ordered into the vetting and barring scheme for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The checks will now involve only those working with the same children once a week, not once a month, for example.
It is thought the new rules will apply to about two million fewer people.
The checks, intended to protect children, had caused concern among teachers and parents.
This will of course still leave the ISA deciding who can work with children on the basis not merely of people’s criminal records but also “soft intelligence” such as unproven accusations. Even under the revised figures, 9 million adults may find themselves being subject to such vetting.