The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (“the Exceptions Order”).

Article 3 of the Exceptions Order provides exceptions to section 4(2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (“the Act”) (questions which relate to spent convictions).

Article 3 of this Order amends certain definitions relating to child minding and day care to ensure that they are consistent with the new relevant primary legislation (the Childcare Act 2006 (c.21)). It also makes a minor amendment to the definition of “work with children” to clarify the reference.

Article 3 also inserts a new paragraph (4A) in article 2 of the Exceptions Order to provide that where relevant reference to a conviction shall include a reference to a caution. This has the effect, following the amendments to the Act to bring cautions within its ambit (section 8A and Schedule 2, inserted by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (c.4)), that such cautions are also excepted under the terms of the Exceptions Order. A caution includes any caution, conditional caution, reprimand or final warning. Articles 4, 5 and 6 of this Order make amendments to articles 3, 4 and 5 of the Exceptions Order for a similar purpose. Article 6(2) also makes a minor corrective consequential amendment.

Article 7 expands the list of sensitive positions which qualify for disclosure of spent conviction information to include the newly created position of non-lawyer “approved legal services body manager” in the list of regulated occupations in Part 3 of Schedule 1. These non-lawyer managers will be able to manage a legal services body under reforms introduced by the Legal Services Act 2007 (c.29), but must be approved as suitable for such by the Law Society. Adding them to the Exceptions Order ensures that appropriate checks can be carried out to assist the Law Society in making its decision as to approval.