Government announces changes to criminal records disclosure regime

The Government has laid a Statutory Instrument to amend the filtering rules that govern what is automatically disclosed through standard and enhanced criminal records certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The new legislation will remove the requirement for automatic disclosure of youth cautions, reprimands and warnings and remove the ‘multiple conviction’ rule, which requires the automatic disclosure of all convictions where a person has more than one conviction, regardless of the nature of their offence or sentence. The move comes following the Government’s consideration of a Supreme Court judgment relating to the current disclosure regime and strikes the balance between the needs of protecting people, especially the most vulnerable and children, while ensuring those who have reformed after committing offences are not disproportionately hindered by previous wrongdoing.