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Council boss wants criminal checks on politicians |
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| The leader of a south Wales council is calling for Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks to be a legal requirement for all politicians. Torfaen council leader Bob Wellington says tighter controls should be put in place concerning who can be elected to office at a local, national and European level, to help protect society's most vulnerable people. Currently, CRB checks for local councillors, Assembly Members, MPs and EMPs are optional. Councillor Wellington said: "Politicians are community leaders, dedicated to improving the lives of residents and making important decisions that affect the lives of everyone. "They are elected to represent their constituents and as part of this process they have regular access to children and vulnerable people. "CRB checks are considered an essential requirement if you are going to work with children and vulnerable people, either as an employee or as a volunteer, and I strongly believe that the same rules should apply to all elected representatives. "Abuse can take many forms - it doesn't necessarily have to be physical. Emotional and financial abuse can have an equally devastating impact on people's lives. "I believe the introduction of mandatory CRB checks will help maintain the highest possible standards of conduct and ethics for all politicians." The CRB works every day with organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to identify candidates who may be unsuitable to work with children or other vulnerable members of society. In the last five years, CRB checks have prevented more than 98,000 unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults in the UK. |
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