03 May Landmark court ruling gives ex-convicts a future
A court ruling today has given hope to thousands of people trying to put their past behind them.
The Court of Appeal rejected the Government’s appeal to a decision of the High Court in January last year, which ruled that the criminal records disclosure scheme was disproportionate and unlawful.
The court ruled that the disclosure scheme has insufficient safeguards to be lawful, and that the scheme is disproportionate
A leading charity for people with convictions that supported the legal challenge and who attended the hearing welcomed the ruling, Christopher Stacey of Unlock said “We’re delighted with the Court of Appeal’s ruling in this important case, which stands to affect many thousands of people with old or minor criminal records. Over 240,000 DBS checks every year disclose convictions or cautions. Since the filtering scheme was introduced in 2013, it’s helped some people with old and minor records to be free of the stigma and discrimination that so many face when they have something they have to disclose to an employer”
