he did not have imposed on him in respect of that conviction a sentence which is excluded from rehabilitation under this Act; and

he has not had imposed on him in respect of a subsequent conviction during the rehabilitation period applicable to the first-mentioned conviction in accordance with section 6 below a sentence which is excluded from rehabilitation under this Act;

failure to pay a fine or other sum adjudged to be paid by or imposed on a conviction, or breach of a condition of a recognizance or of a bond of caution to keep the peace or be of good behaviour;

breach of any condition or requirement applicable in relation to a sentence which renders the person to whom it applies liable to be dealt with for the offence for which the sentence was imposed, or, where the sentence was a suspended sentence of imprisonment, liable to be dealt with in respect of that sentence (whether or not, in any case, he is in fact so dealt with);

failure to comply with any requirement of a suspended sentence supervision order.

a surcharge imposed under section 161A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003;

an order for committal or any other order made in default of payment of any fine or other sum adjudged to be paid by or imposed on a conviction, or for want of sufficient distress to satisfy any such fine or other sum;

an order dealing with a person in respect of a suspended sentence of imprisonment.

to a conviction by or before a court outside Great Britain; and

to any finding (other than a finding linked with a finding of insanity F159or, as the case may be, a finding that a person is not criminally responsible under section 51A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.46)) in any criminal proceedings F4 . . . that a person has committed an offence or done the act or made the omission charged;

any proceedings (whether or not before a court) in respect of a service offence within the meaning of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (except proceedings before a civilian court within the meaning of that Act);

any proceedings under the M5Army Act 1955, the M6Air Force Act 1955, or the M7Naval Discipline Act 1957 whether before a court-martial or before any other court or person authorised thereunder to award a punishment in respect of any offence);

any proceedings under any Act previously in force corresponding to any of the Acts mentioned in paragraph (a) above;

any proceedings before a Standing Civilian Court established under the M8Armed Forces Act 1976;

any proceedings under any corresponding enactment or law applying to a force, other than a home force, to which section 4 of the M9Visiting Forces (British Commonwealth) Act 1933 applies or applied at the time of the proceedings, being proceedings in respect of a member of a home force who is or was at that time attached to the first-mentioned force under that section;

no evidence shall be admissible in any proceedings before a judicial authority exercising its jurisdiction or functions in Great Britain to prove that any such person has committed or been charged with or prosecuted for or convicted of or sentenced for any offence which was the subject of a spent conviction; and

a person shall not, in any such proceedings, be asked, and, if asked, shall not be required to answer, any question relating to his past which cannot be answered without acknowledging or referring to a spent conviction or spent convictions or any circumstances ancillary thereto.

the question shall be treated as not relating to spent convictions or to any circumstances ancillary to spent convictions, and the answer thereto may be framed accordingly; and

the person questioned shall not be subjected to any liability or otherwise prejudiced in law by reason of any failure to acknowledge or disclose a spent conviction or any circumstances ancillary to a spent conviction in his answer to the question.

any obligation imposed on any person by any rule of law or by the provisions of any agreement or arrangement to disclose any matters to any other person shall not extend to requiring him to disclose a spent conviction or any circumstances ancillary to a spent conviction (whether the conviction is his own or another’s); and

a conviction which has become spent or any circumstances ancillary thereto, or any failure to disclose a spent conviction or any such circumstances, shall not be a proper ground for dismissing or excluding a person from any office, profession, occupation or employment, or for prejudicing him in any way in any occupation or employment.

make such provision as seems to him appropriate for excluding or modifying the application of either or both of paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) above in relation to questions put in such circumstances as may be specified in the order;

provide for such exceptions from the provisions of subsection (3) above as seem to him appropriate, in such cases or classes of case, and in relation to convictions of such a description, as may be specified in the order.

the offence or offences which were the subject of that conviction;

the conduct constituting that offence or those offences; and

any process or proceedings preliminary to that conviction, any sentence imposed in respect of that conviction, any proceedings (whether by way of appeal or otherwise) for reviewing that conviction or any such sentence, and anything done in pursuance of or undergone in compliance with any such sentence.

by virtue of any enactment, law, custom or practice;

under the rules governing any association, institution, profession, occupation or employment; or

under any provision of an agreement providing for arbitration with respect to questions arising thereunder;

a sentence of imprisonment for life;

a sentence of imprisonment F17youth custodyF18detention in a young offender institution or corrective training for a term exceeding thirty months;

a sentence of preventive detention; . . . F19

a sentence of detention during Her Majesty’s pleasure or for life F20under section 90 or 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000F21or under section 209 or 218 of the Armed Forces Act 2006,F22or under section 205(2) or (3) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975,F23or a sentence of detention for a term exceeding thirty months passed under section 91 of the said Act of 2000F24(young offenders convicted of grave crimes) F25or section 209 of the said Act of 2006 or under section 206 of the said Act of 1975 (detention of children convicted on indictment)F167. . . F26and

a sentence of custody for life; F27and

a sentence of imprisonment for public protection under section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, a sentence of detention for public protection under section 226 of that Act or an extended sentence under section F162 226A, 226B, 227 or 228 of that Act F29 (including any sentence within this paragraph passed as a result of any of sections 219 to 222 of the Armed Forces Act 2006)

references to section 209 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 include references to section 71A(4) of the Army Act 1955 or Air Force Act 1955 or section 43A(4) of the Naval Discipline Act 1957;

the reference to section 218 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 includes a reference to section 71A(3) of the Army Act 1955 or Air Force Act 1955 or section 43A(3) of the Naval Discipline Act 1957.

the rehabilitation period applicable to a sentence specified in the first column of Table A below is the period specified in the second column of that Table in relation to that sentence, or, where the sentence was imposed on a person who was under F31 eighteen years of age at the date of his conviction, half that period; and

the rehabilitation period applicable to a sentence specified in the first column of Table B below is the period specified in the second column of that Table in relation to that sentence;

to an order discharging a person absolutely for an offence; and

to the discharge by a children’s hearing under section 43(2) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 of the referral of a child’s case;

in the case of a person aged eighteen years or over at the date of his conviction, five years from the date of conviction;

in the case of a person aged under the age of eighteen years at the date of his conviction, two and a half years from the date of conviction or a period beginning with the date of conviction and ending when the F52order in question ceases or ceased to have effect, whichever is the longer.

if a youth offender contract takes effect under F55section 23 of that Act between him and a youth offender panel, the period beginning with the date of conviction and ending on the date when (in accordance with F56section 24 of that Act) the contract ceases to have effect;

if no such contract so takes effect, the period beginning with the date of conviction and having the same length as the period for which such a contract would (ignoring any order under paragraph 11 or 12 of Schedule 1 to that Act) have had effect had one so taken effect.

if a youth offender contract takes effect under F58section 23 of that Act between the offender and a youth offender panel, the period beginning with the date of conviction and ending on the date when (in accordance with F59section 24 of that Act) the contract ceases to have effect;

if no such contract so takes effect, the period beginning with the date of conviction and having the same length as the period for which, in accordance with the order, such a contract would have had effect had one so taken effect.

an order under section 57 of the M14Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or section 61 of the M15Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 committing the person convicted to the care of a fit person;

a supervision order under any provision of either of those Acts or of the M16Children and Young Persons Act 1963;

an order under section 413 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 committing a child for the purpose of his undergoing residential training:

an approved school order under section 61 of the said Act of 1937;

a youth rehabilitation order under Part 1 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008;

F63a care order or a supervision order under F64section 63(1) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; or

a supervision requirement under any provision of the M17Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968;

a community supervision order under Schedule 5A to the M18 Army Act 1955 or the M19 Air Force Act 1955, or under Schedule 4A to the M20 Naval Discipline Act 1957;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

an order under section 54 of the said Act of 1933 committing the person convicted to custody in a remand home;

an approved school order under section 57 of the said Act of 1933; or

an attendance centre order under F67section 60 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; F68or

a secure training order under section 1 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994;

in the case of a person aged fifteen years or over at the date of his conviction, five years if the order was, and three and a half years if the order was not, for a term exceeding six months;

in the case of a person aged under fifteen years at the date of his conviction, a period beginning with that date and ending one year after the date on which the order ceases to have effect.

“sentence of imprisonment” includes a sentence of detention F74under section 207 or 415 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 and a sentence of penal servitude, and “term of imprisonment” shall be construed accordingly;

consecutive terms of imprisonment or of detention under F75section 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000F76or section 209 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 or F77section 206 of the said Act of 1975, and terms which are wholly or partly concurrent (being terms of imprisonment or detention imposed in respect of offences of which a person was convicted in the same proceedings) shall be treated as a single term;

no account shall be taken of any subsequent variation, made by a court in dealing with a person in respect of a suspended sentence of imprisonment, of the term originally imposed; and

a sentence imposed by a court outside Great Britain shall be treated as a sentence of that one of the descriptions mentioned in this section which most nearly corresponds to the sentence imposed.

to any such order or requirement as is mentioned above in this subsection;

to any order having effect under section 25(2) of F80the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 as if it were a training school order in Northern Ireland; and

to any supervision order made under section 72(2) of the said Act of 1968 and having effect as a supervision order under the M22Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1950.

substitute different periods or terms for any of the periods or terms mentioned in subsections (1) to (8) above; and

substitute a different age for the age mentioned in subsection (2)(a) above.

a sentence of imprisonment for life;

a sentence of imprisonment F82youth custody or corrective training for a term exceeding thirty months;

a sentence of preventive detention; . . . F83

a sentence of detention during Her Majesty’s pleasure or for life F84under section 90 or 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000F21or under section 209 or 218 of the Armed Forces Act 2006,F85or under section 205(2) or (3) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975,or a sentence of detention for a term exceeding thirty months passed under section 91 of the said Act of 2000F86(young offenders convicted of grave crimes) F25or section 209 of the said Act of 2006 or under section 206 of the said Act of 1975 (detention of children convicted on indictment)F167. . . F87and

a sentence of custody for life; F27and

a sentence of imprisonment for public protection under section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, a sentence of detention for public protection under section 226 of that Act or an extended sentence under section F162 226A, 226B, 227 or 228 of that Act

references to section 209 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 include references to section 71A(4) of the Army Act 1955 or Air Force Act 1955 or section 43A(4) of the Naval Discipline Act 1957;

the reference to section 218 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 includes a reference to section 71A(3) of the Army Act 1955 or Air Force Act 1955 or section 43A(3) of the Naval Discipline Act 1957.

the rehabilitation period applicable to a sentence specified in the first column of Table A below is the period specified in the second column of that Table in relation to that sentence, or, where the sentence was imposed on a person who was under F88 eighteen years of age at the date of his conviction, half that period; and

the rehabilitation period applicable to a sentence specified in the first column of Table B below is the period specified in the second column of that Table in relation to that sentence;

to an order discharging a person absolutely for an offence; and

to the discharge by a children’s hearing under section F9969(1)(b) and (12) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 of the referral of a child’s case;

in the case of a person aged eighteen years or over at the date of his conviction, five years from the date of conviction;

in the case of a person aged under the age of eighteen years at the date of his conviction, two and a half years from the date of conviction or a period beginning with the date of conviction and ending when the F104order in question ceases or ceased to have effect, whichever is the longer.

if a youth offender contract takes effect under F107section 23 of that Act between him and a youth offender panel, the period beginning with the date of conviction and ending on the date when (in accordance with F108section 24 of that Act) the contract ceases to have effect;

if no such contract so takes effect, the period beginning with the date of conviction and having the same length as the period for which such a contract would (ignoring any order under paragraph 11 or 12 of Schedule 1 to that Act) have had effect had one so taken effect.

if a youth offender contract takes effect under F110section 23 of that Act between the offender and a youth offender panel, the period beginning with the date of conviction and ending on the date when (in accordance with F111section 24 of that Act) the contract ceases to have effect;

if no such contract so takes effect, the period beginning with the date of conviction and having the same length as the period for which, in accordance with the order, such a contract would have had effect had one so taken effect.

an order under section 57 of the M29Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or section 61 of the M30Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 committing the person convicted to the care of a fit person;

a supervision order under any provision of either of those Acts or of the M31Children and Young Persons Act 1963;

an order under section 413 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 committing a child for the purpose of his undergoing residential training:

an approved school order under section 61 of the said Act of 1937;

a youth rehabilitation order under Part 1 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008;

a care order or a supervision order under F113section 63(1) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; or

a supervision requirement under any provision of the F114Children (Scotland) Act 1995;

a community supervision order under Schedule 5A to the M32 Army Act 1955 or the M33 Air Force Act 1955, or under Schedule 4A to the M34 Naval Discipline Act 1957;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

an order under section 54 of the said Act of 1933 committing the person convicted to custody in a remand home;

an approved school order under section 57 of the said Act of 1933; or

an attendance centre order under F117section 60 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; F118or

a secure training order under section 1 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994;

in the case of a person aged fifteen years or over at the date of his conviction, five years if the order was, and three and a half years if the order was not, for a term exceeding six months;

in the case of a person aged under fifteen years at the date of his conviction, a period beginning with that date and ending one year after the date on which the order ceases to have effect.

“sentence of imprisonment” includes a sentence of detention F122under section 207 or 415 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 and a sentence of penal servitude, and “term of imprisonment” shall be construed accordingly;

consecutive terms of imprisonment or of detention under F123section 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000F76or section 209 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 or F124section 206 of the said Act of 1975, and terms which are wholly or partly concurrent (being terms of imprisonment or detention imposed in respect of offences of which a person was convicted in the same proceedings) shall be treated as a single term;

no account shall be taken of any subsequent variation, made by a court in dealing with a person in respect of a suspended sentence of imprisonment, of the term originally imposed; and

a sentence imposed by a court outside Great Britain shall be treated as a sentence of that one of the descriptions mentioned in this section which most nearly corresponds to the sentence imposed.

to any such order or requirement as is mentioned above in this subsection;

to any order having effect under section 25(2) of F127the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 as if it were a training school order in Northern Ireland; and

to any supervision order made under section 72(2) of the said Act of 1968 and having effect as a supervision order under the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1950.

substitute different periods or terms for any of the periods or terms mentioned in subsections (1) to (8) above; and

substitute a different age for the age mentioned in subsection (2)(a) above.

an order is made under section 1(2A) of the Street Offences Act 1959 in respect of a conviction,

after the end of the rehabilitation period applicable to the conviction the offender is dealt with again for the offence for which that order was made, and

the rehabilitation period applicable to the conviction in accordance with subsection (2) (taking into account any sentence imposed when so dealing with the offender) ends later than the rehabilitation period previously applicable to the conviction,

the person convicted is convicted of a further offence; and

no sentence excluded from rehabilitation under this Act is imposed on him in respect of the later conviction;

any conviction in England and Wales of F132a summary offence or of a scheduled offence (within the meaning of F133section 22 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980) tried summarily in pursuance of subsection (2) of that section (summary trial where value involved is small);

any conviction in Scotland of an offence which is not excluded from the jurisdiction of inferior courts of summary jurisdiction by virtue of section 4 of the M35Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act 1954 (certain crimes not to be tried in inferior courts of summary jurisdiction); and

any conviction in service disciplinary proceedings for an offence listed in F135Schedule 1;

any conviction by or before a court outside Great Britain of an offence in respect of conduct which, if it had taken place in any part of Great Britain, would not have constituted an offence under the law in force in that part of Great Britain.

any right of Her Majesty, by virtue of Her Royal prerogative or otherwise, to grant a free pardon, to quash any conviction or sentence, or to commute any sentence;

the enforcement by any process or proceedings of any fine or other sum adjudged to be paid by or imposed on a spent conviction;

the issue of any process for the purpose of proceedings in respect of any breach of a condition or requirement applicable to a sentence imposed in respect of a spent conviction; or

the operation of any enactment by virtue of which, in consequence of any conviction, a person is subject, otherwise than by way of sentence, to any disqualification, disability, prohibition or other penalty the period of which extends beyond the rehabilitation period applicable in accordance with section 6 above to the conviction.

in any criminal proceedings before a court in Great Britain (including any appeal or reference in a criminal matter);

in any service disciplinary proceedings or in any proceedings on appeal from any service disciplinary proceedings;

in any proceedings under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, or on appeal from any such proceedings;

in any proceedings relating to adoption, the marriage of any minor, F139or the formation of a civil partnership by any minor, the exercise of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court with respect to minors or the provision by any person of accommodation, care or schooling for minors;

in any proceedings relating to the variation or discharge of a youth rehabilitation order under Part 1 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, or on appeal from any such proceedings;

in any proceedings brought under the Children Act 1989;

in any proceedings before a children’s hearing under the M36Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 or on appeal from any such hearing; or

in any proceedings in which he is a party or a witness, provided that, on the occasion when the issue or the admission or requirement of the evidence falls to be determined, he consents to the determination of the issue or, as the case may be, the admission or requirement of the evidence notwithstanding the provisions of section 4(1).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F142 or

in any proceedings brought under Part 7 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (criminal memoirs etc).

any right of Her Majesty, by virtue of Her Royal prerogative or otherwise, to grant a free pardon, to quash any conviction or sentence, or to commute any sentence;

the enforcement by any process or proceedings of any fine or other sum adjudged to be paid by or imposed on a spent conviction;

the issue of any process for the purpose of proceedings in respect of any breach of a condition or requirement applicable to a sentence imposed in respect of a spent conviction; or

the operation of any enactment by virtue of which, in consequence of any conviction, a person is subject, otherwise than by way of sentence, to any disqualification, disability, prohibition or other penalty the period of which extends beyond the rehabilitation period applicable in accordance with section 6 above to the conviction.

in any criminal proceedings before a court in Great Britain (including any appeal or reference in a criminal matter);

in any service disciplinary proceedings or in any proceedings on appeal from any service disciplinary proceedings;

in any proceedings on an application for F146an order under section 2, 2A or 20 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 or in any appeal against the making of such an order;

in any proceedings on an application under section 2, 4 or 5 of the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp 9) or in any appeal under section 6 of that Act;

in any proceedings relating to parental responsibilities or parental rights (within the meaning of section 1(3) and section 2(4) respectively of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995), guardianship, adoption or the provision by any person of accommodation, care or schooling for children under the age of 18 years;

in any proceedings under Part II of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995;

in any proceedings relating to the variation or discharge of a youth rehabilitation order under Part 1 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, or on appeal from any such proceedings;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

in any proceedings in which he is a party or a witness, provided that, on the occasion when the issue or the admission or requirement of the evidence falls to be determined, he consents to the determination of the issue or, as the case may be, the admission or requirement of the evidence notwithstanding the provisions of section 4(1).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F142 or

in any proceedings brought under Part 7 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (criminal memoirs etc ).

any report of judicial proceedings contained in any bona fide series of law reports which does not form part of any other publication and consists solely of reports of proceedings in courts of law, and

any report or account of judicial proceedings published for bona fide educational, scientific or professional purposes, or given in the course of any lecture, class or discussion given or held for any of those purposes.

for the reference in subsection (1) to libel and slander there shall be substituted a reference to defamation;

for references to the plaintiff and the defendant there shall be substituted respectively references to the pursuer and the defender; and

for references to the defence of justification there shall be substituted references to the defence of veritas.

a conditional caution, that is to say, a caution given under section 22 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) (conditional cautions for adults) or under section 66A of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c. 37) (conditional cautions for children and young persons);

any other caution given to a person in England and Wales in respect of an offence which, at the time the caution is given, that person has admitted;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

anything corresponding to a caution F165... falling within F166paragraph (a) or (b) (however described) which is given to a person in respect of an offence under the law of a country outside England and Wales.

has had a work order made against the person in respect of the offence under section 303ZA of that Act,

has, under subsection (5) of section 20A of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 6), given notice of intention to comply with a restoration notice given under subsection (4) of that section,

has been given a fixed penalty notice in respect of the offence under section 129 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 8),

has accepted an offer made by a procurator fiscal in respect of the offence to undertake an activity or treatment or to receive services or do any other thing as an alternative to prosecution, or

in respect of an offence under the law of a country or territory outside Scotland, has been given, or has accepted or is deemed to have accepted, anything corresponding to a warning, offer, order or notice falling within paragraphs (a) to (e) under the law of that country or territory.

to the rehabilitated person or to another person at the express request of the rehabilitated person; or

to a person whom he reasonably believed to be the rehabilitated person or to another person at the express request of a person whom he reasonably believed to be the rehabilitated person.

“ caution information ” means information imputing that a named or otherwise identifiable living person (“the named person”) has committed, been charged with or prosecuted or cautioned for any offence which is the subject of a spent caution; and

“ relevant person ” means any person who, in the course of his official duties (anywhere in the United Kingdom), has or at any time has had custody of or access to any official record or the information contained in it.

to the named person or to another person at the express request of the named person;

to a person whom he reasonably believed to be the named person or to another person at the express request of a person whom he reasonably believed to be the named person.

“relevant information” means information imputing that a named or otherwise identifiable living person has committed, been charged with, prosecuted for or given an alternative to prosecution in respect of an offence which is the subject of an alternative to prosecution which has become spent,

“subject of the information”, in relation to relevant information, means the named or otherwise identifiable living person to whom the information relates.

obtains relevant information in the course of the person's official duties,

knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that the information is relevant information, and

discloses the information to another person otherwise than in the course of the person's official duties.

to the subject of the information or to a person whom the accused reasonably believed to be the subject of the information, or

to another person at the express request of the subject of the information or of a person whom the accused reasonably believed to be the subject of the information.