The government in England and Wales has unveiled new proposals aimed at improving the employment prospects of rehabilitated young people by changing the rules on how criminal convictions received during childhood are disclosed to employers. Under the current system, many job applicants are required to undergo background checks, which often involve self-declaring their criminal history.
For more sensitive roles, such as positions involving children or police work, employers can request information from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) through standard or enhanced checks. The length of time these records must be disclosed, or remain visible, depends on the severity of the offense, the punishment received, and the time elapsed since the conviction—a status often described as whether a conviction is "spent." Currently, a young person who received a fine for an offense under the age of 18 will have that record appear in checks for five-and-a-half years, while those who received custodial sentences may face disclosure for the rest of their lives.
The government intends to reduce the reach of these disclosure rules for individuals who have not re-offended as adults. Specifically, five offenses—affray, violent disorder, robbery, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and supplying a controlled drug to a child—would be removed from the list of crimes that require lifelong disclosure for adults. According to Ministry of Justice data, approximately 8,500 people under the age of 18 were convicted of these offenses between March 2022 and March 2026. Officials state that such crimes are frequently the result of peer pressure, exploitation, or "adolescent impulsivity," rather than an inherent propensity for violence.
Under the proposed reforms, these specific offenses would cease to appear in background checks after five-and-a-half years. Additionally, the government plans to remove the requirement for lifelong disclosure for offenses that resulted in a detention period of less than two years—the maximum sentence a youth court can impose—replacing it with an 11-year disclosure period. Cases involving sentences longer than two years, which are handled by adult crown courts, would remain subject to current rules.
Further proposals include ending the disclosure of offenses handled through out-of-court resolutions, which are primarily used for knife possession and assault, and reforming the disclosure duration for young people who committed multiple offenses. Justice Minister Jake Richards emphasized that many young people who commit crimes do not continue to lead lives of criminality. "They take responsibility, turn their lives around and want to make something of themselves," Richards said. "When they do, we should recognise that progress and support them – not put unnecessary barriers in their way."
These changes are being introduced ahead of a report by former Labour minister Alan Milburn regarding the number of young people not in work or education. In May, Milburn warned that the UK faced the risk of raising a "lost generation," noting that nearly one in eight young people are currently not employed or studying. Richards highlighted this issue as a key motivation for the reforms, stating that employment barriers can be particularly difficult for those with childhood criminal histories.
