Ed Balls to scale down Big Brother checks

MINISTERS were on the ­retreat last night over plans to force any adult coming into contact with children to undergo a criminal record check.

Ed Balls agreed to scale back vetting proposals Ed Balls agreed to scale back vetting proposals

In a humiliating reverse, Schools Secretary Ed Balls agreed to scale back vetting proposals after an outcry over “Big Brother”-style intrusion.

He agreed to exempt around two million people from vetting procedures, including those who look after a group of youngsters less than once a week.

But Mr Balls remained under pressure last night because nine million adults will still be forced to undergo vetting.

He said: “I’ve not done a ­u-turn, and I think what we’re doing here is making sure that we keep children safe. I’ve looked at the details.

“We’re making some changes and that’s a good thing to do, but the fundamentals of the scheme are still in place.”

Mr Balls yesterday announced an overhaul of the Government’s proposed Vetting and Barring Scheme.

The initiative was set up to protect children after the ­Soham murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman by school caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002.

But parents and voluntary groups complained that even adults giving youngsters occasional lifts to sports clubs would have to undergo checks and register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

Leading children’s authors, including Philip Pullman and Michael Morpurgo, feared they would have to be vetted simply for visiting schools to talk about their books.

Mr Balls claimed some criticism was “ludicrous” and based on “myths” but admitted changes were being made to promote “common sense”.

Parents hosting visiting youngsters under school foreign exchanges will be exempt.

Instead, the system will focus on adults who come into contact with the same group of children at least once a week.

Mr Balls accepted recommendations from Sir Roger Singleton, chairman of the ISA, for overhauling the scheme.

Shadow Schools Secretary Michael Gove said: “Parents, teachers and volunteers across the country are united in recognising that the vetting and barring scheme had to change.

“Ed Balls’s moves today are welcome, but there are still fundamental problems which need to be addressed if we’re to have a proper focus on keeping children safe and a society built on trust in which volunteers are instinctively respected.”

Lib Dem education spokesman David Laws said: “This ­u-turn is long overdue.”

Dylan Sharpe, campaign ­director of Big Brother Watch, said: “The Government has ­fostered an atmosphere in which children are taught not to trust adults and adults are afraid to be left with children.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged children as young as 13 face criminal checks. Campaigners yesterday slammed figures that revealed nearly 2,000 14-year-olds and more than 300 aged 13 and younger had Criminal Records Bureau checks last year. They are vetted if they volunteer to help as sports coaches or at after-school clubs.

The figures emerged after Freedom of Information Act ­requests by campaign group the Manifesto Club. The CRB said it “makes sense” to check anyone over the age of criminal responsibility – 10 years old.

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