England and Wales plan to ease criminal-record checks for some childhood offences

People in England and Wales who were convicted as children could no longer have some offences disclosed to employers for life under government proposals intended to improve job prospects for those who have since stopped offending.

The Ministry of Justice has opened a consultation on changes to criminal-record checks. They would not apply to the most serious offences, including severe violence, terrorism-related crimes and sexual offences.

Under the proposals, five offences committed by children — affray, violent disorder, supplying a controlled drug to a child, robbery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm — would stop appearing on checks after five-and-a-half years. Around 8,500 under-18s were convicted of those offences between March 2022 and March 2026, according to Ministry of Justice data reported by the BBC.

The government also proposes replacing lifelong disclosure with an 11-year period for offences that led to detention of less than two years. The rules would remain unchanged for sentences longer than two years, which can be imposed when a case is heard in an adult Crown Court.

Currently, how long a conviction must be declared or appears on a check depends on the offence, sentence and time since the crime. A conviction resulting in a fine when the offender was under 18 can appear for five-and-a-half years; a custodial sentence can be disclosed for life.

The consultation also proposes cutting or removing disclosure periods for some fines, ending disclosure of offences dealt with outside court, and changing how earlier offences are treated when a young person committed more than one crime.

Justice minister Jake Richards said many young people who offend do not continue a life of crime, and that those who turn their lives around should be supported rather than face unnecessary barriers. The government says young people who have not reoffended as adults can struggle to find work because of their past behaviour.