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Education Committee

Education Committee calls for evidence on the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill

CED005/2006 | 29 September 2006

The Scottish Parliament's Education Committee has issued a call for evidence seeking views from all interested parties on the general principles of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill .

The bill introduces a new framework to ensure that unsuitable people do not gain access to children or protected adults through work.

This vetting and barring framework has been developed in response to one of the recommendations made by Sir Michael Bichard following the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002 and replaces the current regime established by the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003.

In addition to the vetting and barring scheme, the bill's provisions address the sharing of information relating to child protection and make amendments to the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 regarding school care accommodation.

The committee would welcome views from interested parties on:

•  How effective is the bill likely to be in providing children and protected adults with additional protection from harm?

•  What are the likely impacts of the bill on employers, employees and volunteers who work with children and protected adults?

•  Are there any other issues that are raised by the bill's provisions?

In addition, it would be helpful to the committee, if interested parties could comment on:

•  How helpful do you find the policy memorandum and financial memorandum accompanying the bill?

•  Do you have any comments on the consultation the Scottish Executive carried out prior to the introduction of the bill?

BACKGROUND NOTES

The bill was introduced to the Parliament on 25 September 2006 and referred to the Education Committee by the Parliamentary Bureau on 26 September 2006. At stage 1 a subject committee examines the general principles of a bill and recommends to the Parliament whether or not the general principles of the bill should be agreed to. As part of this process, a committee usually takes written and oral evidence from interested parties.

Written evidence should be submitted no later than 1700 on Friday 10 November 2006. There will be no extension to this deadline except by application in writing to the Convener of the committee. Written evidence should be reasonably brief and typewritten (as a guide, normally no more than 4 sides of A4). It would be most helpful if responses could be submitted by email to: pvgbill@scottish.parliament.uk with the name of your organisation or, if appropriate, your name as the subject line.

Alternatively, responses can be submitted by letter to Paul Howell, Committee Assistant, Education Committee, Room T3.40, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP.

Before submitting written evidence, please make yourself aware of the policy on the handling of written evidence by parliamentary committees.

For further information, the media contact is:

Richard Holligan: 0131 348 5605

email: richard.holligan@scottish.parliament.uk

Education Committee contact information

For public information enquiries, contact: 0131 348 5000

For general enquiries, contact 0845 278 1999 (local call rate)

email: sp.info@scottish.parliament.uk

Visit our website at: www.scottish.parliament.uk