Twenty months and one political scandal later, the legislation needed toimplement Sir Michael Bichard's suggestions for improving childprotection is now before Parliament.
In essence, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill centres on a singlepolicy - the creation of a register of everyone barred from working withchildren. The register will combine information from a range of existingchild protection-related sources and registers, including the CriminalRecords Bureau, the Protection of Children Act List and List 99. Whileit's not the approach Bichard recommended - he proposed a register ofpeople allowed to work with children - it has been welcomed bychildren's organisations.
Elaine Peace, UK director of children's services at NCH, says the Bill"rightly reinforces that child protection is everyone'sresponsibility".
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