Norwich council missing data on criminal record checks
A council does not know how many of its staff who require criminal record checks have had one completed, it has emerged.Norwich City Council has been told to urgently find out who has undergone the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) process and who needs one.There was missing data for 41 out of 54 members of staff whose job required an enhanced DBS check.The local authority said: "There are no examples of the council putting anyone at risk because of a lack of DBS checks when they have been needed."
Council bosses faced pointed questions at a meeting of its audit committee on Tuesday night.A report presented to the committee said the council was "not able to identify whether all staff in posts requiring a DBS check have had one".It described a process in which the data was manually compiled on to a spreadsheet but was incomplete.A private company has been brought in to complete the process.
The problem was identified in July 2023 following an audit into the council's safeguarding arrangement, councillors were told.But the audit report said since then, there had been no progress reports and the issues had not been escalated.Alex Catt, the Green group leader, described the situation as "shocking"."It has been known to the council for at least two years with seemingly nothing done about it," he told the BBC."The council works with lots of vulnerable people and we need to know the background of the people working with them."
When asked how long this situation had been going on for at the meeting, executive director of human resources Dawn Bradshaw replied: "I don't have the answer to that."Emily Yule, the council's executive director of resources, said: "This is the first DBS audit we've had in the 20 years I have been here."
The checks are undertaken by the DBS agency, previously known as the Criminal Records Bureau.According to the Home Office, employers can request one in order "to make safer recruitment decisions" particularly when employing people working with children and vulnerable adults.Basic DBS checks reveal spent and unspent convictions, cautions and reprimands held on the Police National Computer.Enhanced checks include "additional information held by local police that is considered relevant to a specific role".
A spokesperson for Norwich City Council said DBS checks were a "serious matter to get right" and claimed that "all of our people who needed a DBS check, have had one"."There are no examples of the council putting anyone at risk because of a lack of DBS checks when they have been needed," the statement continued."We fully accept we were slow in providing information to audit colleagues about DBS checks and that our record keeping needed to be improved."Both of these matters have been picked up and are successfully being addressed."
Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Zia Yusuf returns to Reform 48 hours after resigning
Zia Yusuf has returned to Reform UK two days after he quit as party chairman. Mr Yusuf announced his departure with a social media post on X on Thursday, declaring that his work for Nigel Farage was no longer 'a good use of my time'. His resignation was triggered by a disagreement with Sarah Pochin, the party's newest MP, after she called for a burka ban in the House of Commons, which he described as 'dumb'. The 38-year-old businessman, who is a practising Muslim, will now rejoin the party's senior team in a new role. In an interview with The Sunday Times, he said his resignation had been a 'mistake' and a result of 'exhaustion'.
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Koran burner told of imminent terror threat to his life
An asylum seeker who burnt the Koran has received a police warning of an imminent terror plot to murder him, The Telegraph understands. Hamit Coskun was woken by officers acting on behalf of the Metropolitan Police at 2am on Saturday, who told him of 'an imminent threat', his lawyers said. The officers, who were from another force at a location where Coskun is in hiding, are understood to have read out what is known as an Osman warning. The 50-year-old was last week convicted of a racially aggravated public order offence, after shouting 'f--- Islam' and 'Islam is religion of terrorism' while setting fire to the religious text above his head during a protest on Feb 13. His supporters have accused the Met Police and Crown Prosecution Service of putting his life in danger by pursuing a prosecution against him. The court heard that Coskun, who was living in Derby and had to move to a safe house after a video of the incident was posted online, had been forced to leave his home country of Turkey two and a half years ago to escape persecution. In a letter to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, on behalf of Coskun, Lord Young of Acton, General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, stated: 'We consider that the risk to Mr Coskun's life was caused, in part, by the actions of your officers and the CPS. Danger from 'Islamic extremists' 'Your force had repeatedly suggested publicly that Mr Coskun had offended the 'religious institution of Islam'. Doing so has increased the risk to Mr Coskun from Islamic extremists.' Police are obliged to issue an Osman warning when there is intelligence of the threat, but there is not enough evidence to justify the police arresting the potential murderer. A spokesman for the Met Police said: 'There remains an ongoing police investigation in relation to allegations of threats to kill against a 50-year-old male. Given the investigation is ongoing, we won't be able to comment further at this stage.' Coskun was prosecuted under the Public Order Act after burning a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish Consulate in Knightsbridge. Critics of the decision to prosecute him accused British courts of reviving blasphemy laws by the back door in pursuing his prosecution. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: 'This decision is wrong. It revives a blasphemy law that parliament repealed. 'Free speech is under threat. I have no confidence in two-tier Keir to defend the rights of the public to criticise all religions.' 'De facto blasphemy laws' Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch added on social media: 'De facto blasphemy laws will set this country on the road to ruin. This case should go to appeal. Freedom of belief and freedom not to believe are inalienable rights in Britain. 'I'll defend those rights to my dying day.' Blasphemy laws were abolished in the UK 17 years ago. In a statement after the verdict, Coskun said the decision was 'an assault on free speech' that would deter others from exercising their democratic right to protest. He added: 'As an activist, I will continue to campaign against the threat of Islam. 'Christian blasphemy laws were repealed in this country more than 15 years ago, and it cannot be right to prosecute someone for blaspheming against Islam. 'Would I have been prosecuted if I'd set fire to a copy of the Bible outside Westminster Abbey? I doubt it.' He has pledged to continue burning Korans and intends to go on a tour of the UK, visiting Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow, where he will set fire to the holy book. It is unclear if he will resist doing so until the case is heard at appeal - should he be able to challenge the verdict against him in a higher court. The CPS said that Coskun was not being prosecuted for burning the book. They argued it was the combination of his derogatory remarks about Islam and the fact that it was done in public that made it an offence. The CPS originally charged Coskun, who is an atheist, with harassing the 'religious institution of Islam'. CPS charge amended However, the charge was later amended after free speech campaigners took up his cause and argued he was essentially being accused of blasphemy. Katy Thorne KC, Coskun's barrister, had argued that his actions were not motivated by hostility towards the followers of Islam, but the religion itself. District Judge John McGarva, however, said he did not accept that argument. Giving his verdict, Judge McGarva said: 'Your actions in burning the Koran where you did were highly provocative, and your actions were accompanied by bad language in some cases directed toward the religion and were motivated at least in part by hatred of followers of the religion.' The judge ordered Coskun, who is currently claiming asylum, to pay a fine of £240. A man has admitted assaulting Coskun during his demonstration outside the Turkish Embassy, but has denied using a knife in the attack. The man, whose identity is subject to reporting restrictions, is due to go on trial in 2027.
The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Zia Yusuf makes astonishing return to Reform UK just 48 hours after quitting as party chairman
Zia Yusuf has sensationally announced he is returning to Reform UK - just 48 hours after quitting as the party's chairman. The businessman, who said his decision to quit was a 'mistake' that came as the result of exhaustion, will take up a new role in the party following peace talks with Nigel Farage. While his formal title has not been decided, he is expected to lead Reform's Elon Musk-inspired Doge unit, as well as overseeing some aspects of policymaking, fundraising and media appearances for the party. It comes just two days after Mr Yusuf said he no longer believes 'working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time'.
