Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will remove the rule preventing the filtering of multiple convictions.

The Government’s criminal record disclosure regime seeks to strike a balance between safeguarding children and vulnerable people and enabling young offenders to put their offending behind them. Under the disclosure rules, convictions and cautions received in youth are accordingly already subject to disclosure for significantly reduced periods in comparison to those received as an adult.

The Government will be considering carefully the recommendations made by the Justice Select Committee in their report on the disclosure of youth criminal records, alongside the review by David Lammy MP into the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the criminal justice system. The Government is also considering recommendations made by Charlie Taylor in his review of the Youth Justice System in England and Wales as well as broader safeguarding considerations. The Government keeps filtering rules under constant review. We will respond to reports pertaining to disclosure fully in due course.