Probation: Vetting

(asked on 6th September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of new police vetting requirements for probation staff on (a) socioeconomic background diversity, (b) inclusion of domestic and financial abuse victims and (c) inclusion of people with lived experience of the criminal justice system within the Unified Probation Service workforce.


Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 15th September 2021

The Ministry of Justice will continue to work with the Police and all parties represented on the Disproportionality in Vetting Working Group. This group is currently benchmarking protected characteristics in order to accurately measure those groups which may have disproportionate negative outcomes with Non-Police Personnel Vetting.

Vetting Personnel consider individual circumstance, if disclosed, when considering an applicant’s financial status and history, and are aware to the reasons an applicant may find themselves in financial difficulty through no fault of their own. The MoJ and HM Prison and Probation Service already have staff with lived experience, many of whom have previously generated a “hit” on vetting systems and subsequently attained a positive vetting outcome.

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