Debra Shipley, MP for Stourbridge in the West Midlands, said that while attention has focused on the backlog of teachers waiting to be vetted by the Criminal Records Bureau, private tutors and those running sporting activities are not covered by the Protection of Children Act 1999, which she piloted on to the statute book. The Act obliges childcare organisations, including those providing accommodation, social services or health-care, to check whether any applicant is on the health department list of people deemed unsuitable to work with children.
Mrs Shipley said the CRB told her just before it became operational in March that there would be no checks to ensure that organisations complied with their own findings and that there would only be sample checks to see whether employers had filled out forms properly. 'It is of absolute paramount importance that all the loopholes are closed and we put a stop to all the behind-the-scenes moves to go on covering things up,' she said.
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