Hi all

I wrote to my local MP about the Carlile report and his recommendations to expunge criminal records for under 18 year olds. I got a reply from Lord Bates (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Criminal Information at the Home Office) and in it, among other things, he says:

"The introduction by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) of a filter model ensures that, subject to a specified criteria, certain convictions are filtered i.e., they are not disclosed in a criminal record certificate issued by the DBS. Under the DBS filter model, if a person has more than one conviction, none of their convictions are filtered. Mr *** (me) has two cautions on his record and so, accordingly, under the Government approved model, both his cautions will forever appear on 'Standard' or 'Enchanced' criminal record certificates issued by the DBS."

This is clearly in direct contradiction to the advice given by Unlock and from what I've heard elsewhere. I've written back to him and I hope to get a reply. But can someone from the Unlock team please confirm, without a shadow of a doubt, that multiple cautions are filtered and that Lord Bates is wrong.

Thanks

Steve