Gedling Borough Council will now consider making it compulsory for members to undergo enhanced checks to protect children and vulnerable adults. The Labour-run authority’s Standards Committee met on ...

DBS checks are not mandatory for councillors, but some local authorities have chosen to bring in basic, standard or enhanced checks in recent years.

Basic DBS checks reveal spent and unspent convictions, cautions and reprimands held on the Police National Computer. Enhanced checks include "additional information held by local police that is ...

Under the plans, all councillors must undergo a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check within two months of the policy being approved, or two months after being elected.

However, anyone employing themselves through their own company is not legally required to have a DBS certificate, though self-employed people can obtain checks by applying through agencies ...

Sussex Police is one the forces in England with the longest delays for DBS checks.

However, Mrs Woollam said a basic DBS check failed to reveal the carer's three previous convictions for theft and obtaining property by deception.

A working group, which was established in March, recommended that all councillors undergo basic DBS checks – not enhanced checks.