A report by the justice select committee argues that the current system for disclosure of youth criminal records has an adverse impact on access to employment, education, housing, insurance, travel visas and also undermines the principles of the youth justice system.
It is calling for the length of time in which it takes a criminal record to be "spent" to be reduced. Once spent, a conviction does not have to be disclosed to prospective employers.
The committee wants youth rehabilitation orders, a community sentence used for the majority of young offenders, to be erased on the last day of the order, rather than the current six-month period.
It also wants detention and training orders (DTOs), which are custodial sentences for 12- to 17-year-olds, to be considered "spent" six months after the sentence has been completed. Currently DTOs of less than six months are erased after 18 months and DTOs of more than six months are considered spent two years after the end of the sentence.
Meanwhile, it wants custodial sentences of more than four years to be erased after four years, rather than the current period of seven years.
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