Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (the ROA) sets out when an offender is considered to be ‘rehabilitated’ for the purposes of the Act and sets out the relevant rehabilitation periods for cautions and convictions, i.e. when a caution or conviction becomes ‘spent’. Where an offender is rehabilitated for the purposes of the ROA, the ROA provides that they are entitled to withhold the fact of, or information about their spent cautions or convictions. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (exceptions) order 1975 creates exceptions with the effect that in some circumstances, spent as well as unspent cautions and convictions must be disclosed and may be taken into account when assessing a person’s suitability for certain positions. This balances the protection of the public with allowing ex-offenders to move on with their lives. We are carefully assessing the evidence in this space before considering whether adjustments to the regime are necessary.

An individual can check if a conviction or caution is spent or unspent via the GOV.UK Disclosure Checker: Check if you need to tell someone about your criminal record: Check if your conviction or caution is spent - GOV.UK. We provide information, advice and guidance for employers, landlords and other entities on how they should implement the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA). This can be found on The GOV.UK guidance on the ROA. The guidance is clear that balanced judgements should be made and factors such as the person’s age at the time of the offence, the nature of the offence, how long ago the offence was committed, its relevance to the application or post in question, and what else is known about the persons conduct should be considered. We also provide good practice resources on hiring prison leavers via the New Futures Network. If an employer is unsure what check can be requested, they can contact the Disclosure and Barring Service.

As part of the Government's plan to Make Work Pay, the Employment Rights Bill is repealing the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection. By making this a ‘day one’ right, millions of employees will have protection against being arbitrarily fired by their employer. The Government is taking steps to support those with criminal convictions. Employees with spent convictions will be able claim unfair dismissal from day one (excluding those roles covered by the Exceptions Order). Reforms of unfair dismissal will take effect no sooner than autumn 2026.

Organisations in the UK that process personal data must comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Oversight and enforcement of these data protection laws are carried out independently of the government by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Under these laws, individuals have several rights concerning their personal data, including the right to request its erasure - commonly referred to as the ‘right to be forgotten’. The ICO, as the UK’s independent data protection regulator, provides comprehensive guidance on its website.