MID Devon District Council is to lobby the government about criminal record checks for councillors.

Right now, they don’t have to complete a Disclosure Barring System (DBS) check, although some local authorities are creating guidelines for them.

The government asked former chief constable of Norfolk Simon Bailey to conduct a review into DBS checks, including whether councillors should be required to have them.

Mr Bailey concluded that councillors in “upper-tier” authorities – such as Devon County Council – or unitary authorities, such as Plymouth or Torbay, should undergo enhanced DBS checks if they are involved in children’s services or services for vulnerable adults, which are not covered by district councils like Mid Devon.

Mr Bailey acknowledged such a change would require legislation, leading to a delay before it becomes law.

Mid Devon District Council has set up a working group to consider the issue.

The council’s standards committee voted to make it mandatory for councillors to undergo basic DBS checks from May 2027, with the option to voluntarily undergo one from January next year.

Councillors and officers acknowledged the limitations of asking councillors to get DBS checks if it isn’t a legal requirement.

Stephen Walford, the council’s chief executive, said: “This is not a bad idea, but there are absolutely limitations on the ultimate effectiveness of it as there is not much in the way of sanction behind it.”

The standards committee voted to write to the government to lobby it on the issue of creating laws in favour of the checks for councillors.

It heard that even if the council mandated the checks, councillors could refuse unless it becomes law.

However, the committee voted in favour of asking for basic DBS checks for councillors. This level shows unspent convictions – those which people have to reveal for relatively recent or more minor offences - but does now show spent ones.

“I think there is an argument for wondering whether it is warranted, as you already cannot stand for election if you’ve been convicted of a crime in the past five years,” Cllr Nikki Woollatt said (Independent, Cullompton St Andrews).

“There isn’t huge value in it, I don’t think, to a basic DBS check because it is a snapshot in time and doesn’t prevent people offending in the future.

“So it may give the public some reassurance but I am not entirely sure of the value, and as has been said, how can it be mandatory if we can’t compel people to do it and members could refuse?”

Cllr James Buczkowski (Liberal Democrat, Cullompton St Andrews), who had been on the working group that developed the proposals, acknowledged some of the issues being raised, but that DBS checks were just a “small part” of wider safeguarding.

The cost of running basic DBS checks on its 42 councillors would cost around £1,600, the committee heard, which some described as “small in the grand scheme of things” but others noted even small costs should be scrutinised and that it was a “struggle to see the benefits for Mid Devon residents”.

Bradley Gerrard