 |
 |
 |
 |
Criminal Records Bureau cock-ups will lead to hidden abuse of the elderly
January 24, 2003 12:00 AM
Commenting on the Age Concern announcement today that existing vulnerable older people will be put at risk because of the incompetence of the Criminal Records Bureau, Paul Burstow MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesman on Older People said:
"The decision to free home-care and nursing agencies from the requirement to carry out CRB checks is a national scandal. It means that non-vetted staff, caring in the privacy of a person's own home, will do so unseen and unmonitored, putting thousands of the most vulnerable people at risk.
"The CRB was set up in response to public concern about the safety of children and vulnerable adults. That concern still exists, but Government expediency has won out over fundamental safety regulations.
"Tony Blair's spokesman told journalists that resources had to be freed up to focus on 'priority areas'.
"Why are we in a situation of having to prioritise between equally vulnerable people? Quite simply, because CRB is a hastily introduced and under resourced bureaucratic nightmare, limping along because of ministerial blundering.
ENDS
Notes to editors.
• Paul Burstow MP has tabled 63 Parliamentary Questions on the CRB and the following Early Day Motion:
SUSPENSION OF CRIMINAL RECORD BUREAU CHECKS FOR EMPLOYEES WHO WORK WITH VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND ADULTS
That this house is appalled by the decision of the Home Office and Department of Health to cancel Criminal Records checks on around 200,000 care home staff, agency nurses, agency domiciliary care staff, residential family centres, and adoption centres; is disgusted that the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (Pova) list that was designed to protect some of the most vulnerable in society from abuse has been postponed indefinitely; notes that the Home Secretary described the function of the Criminal Records Bureau is to reduce the risk of abuse by ensuring that those who are unsuitable are not able to work with children and vulnerable adults, and with this U-turn on checks many hundreds of thousands of individuals will be exposed to intimate contact with individuals who have not had a criminal record check; further notes that this hugely important announcement was smuggled out on a Friday afternoon through a planted House of Lords written answer when the House of Commons was not sitting; also notes the Leader of the House described this practice as an 'odd device'; and calls for Ministers to come to the dispatch box to answer questions on this matter and for the Carter inquiry into the incompetence of the Criminal Records Bureau and Capita to be published as a matter of extreme urgency.
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats