UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS

 

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".  Readers, I`m sure, will recognise that phrase from what is considered one of the most famous speeches in recorded history.  Its relevance to us almost exactly 162 years later is manifold.  There are probably millions of words written and spoken by thousands of learned people about the significance of those words but they were triggered in my mind by the recent announcement that government ministers can hide their criminal records from the public they ostensibly are sent to serve.   

As a background some facts of what in general is termed "disclosure". 

1. Most jobs cannot legally ask for spent convictions.


Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) once a conviction is “spent”, the individual normally does not have to disclose it.


2. Some professions are exempt from the ROA (“Exempted Professions”). These can require all convictions, including spent ones often via an Enhanced DBS check.

3. Certain roles are separately regulated and have statutory fitness-to-practise rules requiring disclosure of all past criminality.

Some professions are legally allowed or required to demand disclosure of criminal convictions. Among those are:-

Solicitors, Barristers, Legal Executives

Medicine & Healthcare Professions (Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists

Police / Law Enforcement

Teachers / School Staff / Education Professionals

Judges, Magistrates, Court Officers

Regulated Financial Roles

Members of Parliament

Professions Working With Vulnerable Adults or Children

Military

Taxi & Private Hire Drivers

Accountants (Chartered, Certified)

There are certain exception clauses and amendments. However that government ministers can be in office with an undisclosed criminal conviction is a travesty of what is supposed to be an open democracy.  On November 12th the Information Commissioner`s Office rejected an appeal by The Times to force the Cabinet office to disclose how many ministers had declared a prior criminal conviction before taking office.  

On top of Keir Starmer`s gifts of spectacles and suits from sundry sources in its short period in power it`s becoming increasingly obvious that this government is pushing the boundaries of acceptable behaviour to equal or exceed the breaches of the 14 years of Tory mismanagement and sleaze. It seems almost daily that from the woodwork of Downing Street and the Victorian edifices of Whitehall democracy devouring weevils are hard at work filling their already bloated bellies with as much as they can before their inevitable demise as the tidal deluge of night extinguishes their brief follies in the sun of power.  

Scandals involving Government, police, NHS, military  and others  seem to be in the public eye with ever increasing frequency.  The corollary, however, is the extent of cover ups in many aspects of our "open democracy" of which we know little.  I posted last week on the secret lives of judges. Perhaps the literary legacy of another American politician less well known to the British public, Donald Rumsfeld in 2002,  is worth repeating here, "Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know."