Sports clubs, most particularly those working with children and young people under 18, will be asked to consider criminal conviction information when selecting volunteers. Part V Police Act 1997 will place access to criminal record information on a legal footing. When implemented in full it will allow:

• Individuals to apply for a Criminal Conviction Certificate detailing unspent convictions.
• Individuals and agencies to apply for Criminal Record Certificates which will detail spent and unspent convictions and apply to posts exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders legislation.
• Individuals and registered agencies to apply for Enhanced Criminal Record Certificates which will include spent and unspent convictions and other non-conviction information from local police records considered relevant to the post. This level will be limited initially to those working regularly with children under 18, but will be extended to those who work with 'Vulnerable Adults' in the future.

None of these checks are statutorily compulsory at the time of printing but early signs indicate that insurance

companies and those letting premises are likely to require Enhanced Criminal Conviction Certificates where an adult is regularly training, caring for, supervising or having sole charge of children under 18

Registered agencies will have to comply with a code of practice around use of the information. The most recent draft includes indemnity for SCRO in case of legal action, policies on involving ex-offenders, commitment to confidentiality and destruction of data after it has been used to inform decisions. The parameters for becoming a Registered Agency have yet to be defined, however, it is unlikely that individual clubs would be required to be such. It is unclear whether the SCA will be required to become a Registered Agency either.

It is assumed that canoe and kayak clubs, like others working with children under18 will have little choice and for good child protection would want little choice on carrying out checks on regular workers and volunteers, those who see the children every week or every day or tke them on overnight or residential trips. The SCA will produce guidelines for Affiliated Clubs in due course.