The government proposes to use this Bill as a response to the key recommendations made by the Bichard Inquiry, which requested a registration scheme to prevent those deemed unsuitable from gaining access to children or vulnerable adults through their work.

Both the Department of Education and Skills, and the Department of Health are working together to establish a “vetting and barring scheme” for England and Wales. The scheme will also have links with Scotland and Northern Ireland, and will be implemented by 2007.

The Bill includes the introduction of a “centralised, integrated pre-employment vetting on wider sources of information”, providing more inclusive and reliable measures for protecting vulnerable groups.

The Bill also builds on existing checks for employment applications through the Criminal Records Bureau, the Protection of Vulnerable Adults scheme, the Protection of Children Act and List 99 for the education sector.

Other proposals in the Bill will include a continuous update of the records, the ability for employers to make simple on-line checks of barred applicants, and extending the compulsory requirements for checks to new groups (although this is subject to consultation).