Councils are up in arms over government plans to cut CRB checks for taxi drivers. The government plans to only request taxi drivers to get ‘standard’ CRBs (which checks for cautions, convictions, or reprimands), rather than ‘enhanced’ CRBs (which includes all other information on local police records, and child protection registers). Yet it is strange that ‘enhanced’ CRBs as seen as a guarantee of safety. The point about notes on police local computers is that they are unproven – they could be hearsay, or malicious allegations. So such notes are just as likely to incriminate an innocent man as they are to…

A CRB answer to an FOI request provides a fascinating cost breakdown of CRB checks: ‘The CRB as an executive agency of the Home Office is completely self funded and does not receive any government subsidy towards the cost of the Disclosure process. In the event that an employer is required to register their child care services with Ofsted, the payment of Disclosure applications is a matter for the individual or organisation. The CRB does not dictate which party should incur the Disclosure cost. The current cost of a CRB Disclosure to a paid staff member (i.e. not a volunteer) is: £26…

A Tory MP has tabled a private members’ bill to try to get around volunteers being put off by CRB checks. Rather than ask for CRBs, proposes Chris Chope, people should be asked to sign a ‘fit and proper person’ certificate declaring that they have no criminal record and no convictions. The aim is admirable – to cut bureaucracy and enable people to vouch for themselves and their own trustworthiness. A few holes in the plan, though. First, obviously, is that lots of people have some kind of criminal record which in no way makes them a risk to children – for…

The ‘Grandparent project’ is Oxford seeks to involve grandparents in community activities. The project celebrates the virtues of ‘living in a friendly community’, and aims to ‘give a voice to grandparents’. Grandmother Paula Mitty said: ‘I think it would be wonderful for grandparents to be acknowledged for the important part they play in their grandchildren’s lives, especially those grandparents who are carers too.’ Yet these worthy aims are undercut by the details of the ad: ‘All volunteers have to attend our in house training and have a CRB check before they join the volunteer team.’ The weblink for the project is worldclasscommunities.co.uk…