Draft Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2025

Harriet Cross Excerpts

Wednesday 19th March 2025 General Committees

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

I am grateful for the Minister’s remarks. Disclosure functions are, of course, important and sensitive, and clearly they must work efficiently for the protection of those who are vulnerable, as well as for those subject to disclosure requirements, whether individuals or organisations. As we understand it, the overarching aim of the draft order is to allow for the continuation of the disclosure and safeguarding regime in Scotland and to operationalise the policy intentions of the primary legislation underpinning this statutory instrument, the Disclosure (Scotland) Act.

The order appears for the most part to be technical in nature, but it is concerning that we are having to consider legislation to avert a situation in which ineligible people or even small businesses would have been criminalised before the scheme even became a legal requirement. Clearly, we would not want people being criminalised due to an uneven legal framework.

I shall be grateful if the Minister responds to the following questions. What conversations has he had with the Scottish National party Government about both the problem and the proposed solution, and what steps are the Scottish Government taking? Secondly, is he confident that the right people have been consulted and engaged with on rectification of the problem and that the concerns have genuinely been listened to? What statistics can be offered on the information campaign about these impending changes in terms of the people reached and whether this has resulted in a shift in the level of engagement?

Does the Minister believe that the secondary legislation that the Scottish Government plan to bring forward will be properly calibrated with this draft order? Finally, given the complexities, can we be sure that the guidance due to be published will be genuinely clear and easily understood, to smooth what has not been the most straightforward transition so far?