Section 29: Part 5 of the Police Act 1997: code of practice
114.This section extends the scope of the code of practice issued under section 122 of Part 5 of the Police Act 1997 (“Part 5”) which governs the use of information provided to registered persons by the CRB. Registered persons are organisations which (being considered suitable to receive sensitive disclosure information) are registered with the CRB for the purpose of applying for disclosures of conviction information under Part 5, either in their own right or on behalf of others. A person who is not registered must apply for a disclosure via a registered person.
115.Section 29 extends the scope of the code of practice so as to include provisions relating to the carrying out of any function by a body or person registered with the CRB for the purpose of accessing the disclosure service under Part 5. The current scope of the code of practice as it relates to England and Wales is limited to the use of information provided to such bodies or persons.
116.The section also provides for a variety of sanctions for failure to comply with the code of practice. The proposed sanctions are equivalent to sanctions already contained in Part 5 (section 120A) for failure to comply with prescribed conditions of registration.