Protection of Freedoms bill scales back employment vetting

The Government has scrapped the background vetting scheme that required more than nine million people to undergo record checks, in a bid to cut down on state bureaucracy.

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said that the halting of the scheme would bring to an end a "13-year assault on hard-won British freedoms". Checks will now only be required on people working most closely with children or vulnerable adults, and the results will be able to be transferred between employers when people move jobs.

The changes have been detailed in the Protection of Freedoms Bill, which Mr Clegg said scales back what he saw the creeping erosion of civil liberties that has been happening in recent years.

Many people who routinely work or volunteer with children or vulnerable adults will no longer be required to register with the state before doing so. Mr Clegg said there would however be strict provisions in place for the most vulnerable situations, to make sure that safety was maintained.

The measures will also cut back on the extent to which DNA of innocent people can be stored, as well as the measures that local authorities have to monitor such issues as bin collections and school catchment area disputes.

The new bill has been hailed by civil liberties groups, with Daniel Hamilton, from campaign group Big Brother Watch, calling it a "real victory for common sense".