R21 Response Accepted

Enhanced Disclosure for school staff

Recommendation

All posts, including those in schools, that involve working with children, and vulnerable adults, should be subject to the Enhanced Disclosure regime.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
Government reports this recommendation as delivered. Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 received Royal Assent.
Sources
Government response (2004-06-22): Accepted Source: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2004-06-22/debates/3637ce59-cd9a-462c-8b69-a29dc01e93a2/BichardInquiryReport Text: The Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament on 22 June 2004, the day the Bichard Inquiry Report was published, accepting all 31 recommendations in full. The government stated it was "in principle, accepting Sir Michael's main recommendations and will act on them immediately." Implementation le Progress update (2006-11-08): Completed Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 received Royal Assent. Ensured all posts involving work with children and vulnerable adults, including in schools, are subject to the Enhanced Disclosure regime. Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/47/contents
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by baseline-data-v1 on 26 May 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted
Accepted Home Office
22 Jun 2004

The Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament on 22 June 2004, the day the Bichard Inquiry Report was published, accepting all 31 recommendations in full. The government stated it was "in principle, accepting Sir Michael's main recommendations and will act on them immediately." Implementation led to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the creation of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (now the Disclosure and Barring Service). By February 2007, 21 of the 31 recommendations had been fully or substantially completed. See Hansard, 22 June 2004.

Read Full Response
Note: Government responded with a single statement accepting all 31 recommendations. Individual per-recommendation responses were not published separately.
Progress Timeline
Home Office states: Official Report
08 Nov 2006

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 received Royal Assent. Ensured all posts involving work with children and vulnerable adults, including in schools, are subject to the Enhanced Disclosure regime.

Source
Source
Inquiry Bichard Inquiry
Report The Bichard Inquiry Report 22 Jun 2004
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Home Office Primary
Themes & Tags
Police Vetting Inconsistencies DBS Vetting Education
Recommendation age 21.9 yrs
Last formal update 7144 days ago