Section 8: Level 2 disclosure
22.Section 8 defines the content of a Level 2 disclosure, which replaces standard and enhanced disclosures under the 1997 Act and scheme records under the PVG Act (collectively known as ‘higher level disclosures’).
23.Subsection (1)(a) provides that a Level 2 disclosure in relation to an individual will include details of criminal disposals incurred by the individual. “Criminal disposal, when read with subsection (3), includes (i) spent and unspent adult convictions, (ii) unspent childhood convictions, and (iii) unspent adult cautions, but does not include non-disclosable convictions. This means that unspent childhood convictions will be disclosed subject to the rules set out in section 9. This differs from information about spent childhood convictions which will follow the process set out in section 13.
24.Subsections (1)(b) to (e) provide that Level 2 disclosures may include information about spent childhood convictions and children’s hearing outcomes, information provided by the chief constable, information provided by the chief officers of relevant overseas police forces, and confirmation of whether the applicant is subject to the notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It is also to include additional information where sections 16 or 17 apply. In this Part “children’s hearing outcome” means anything treated as a conviction for the purposes of the 1974 Act by virtue of section 3 of that Act (see section 69). Section 3 of the 1974 Act covers referrals to a children’s hearing under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 on grounds of the commission of an offence by a child where that ground of referral has been accepted, established or deemed to be established.
25.Information that was previously removed from a Level 2 disclosure under section 31(4) following a successful review application, must not be included in a Level 2 disclosure if it appears to Ministers that the subsequent Level 2 disclosure has been requested for the same purpose as the previous Level 2 disclosure. For example, if a childhood conviction is excluded from a PVG Level 2 disclosure following a review process in relation to an individual participating in the Scheme to carry out regulated roles with children, that conviction will never appear in the individual’s subsequent Level 2 disclosures relating to them doing regulated roles with children. However, if the individual later joins the Scheme to carry out regulated roles with adults, the purpose of the disclosure is not the same as the previous Level 2 disclosure. The process in section 13, and if applicable sections 22 and 30, would therefore apply again. More information about the “purpose” of the disclosure can be found at paragraph 29 of these notes.
