DBS checks for councillors 'should be mandatory' says council boss

There was ‘shock’ among councillors as they learned enhanced DBS checks for members are not already enforced.

Coun Dave Molyneux, leader of Wigan Council, told his peers that he “strongly believes” that members should be subjected to background checks before being allowed to take a seat as a councillor. Wigan Town Hall’s full council meeting heard that the leader would ask the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to request that they introduce mandatory Enhanced DBS checks for all Local Government and regional elected councillors.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is something that can be used to check the criminal record of an individual.

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“We get involved in schools, community groups, churches, and it is only right that when we ask for volunteers for activities like scouts to get a DBS check,” Coun Molyneux told councillors. “We are corporate parents and we make decisions in committees and in this chamber about how young people are treated.

“When we discussed this a few years back there was objection to making it compulsory but now we are asking to write to the Government to insist that all elected members have a full DBS check. I think it is the right thing to do.”

Responding to the leader’s motion, Coun James Watson of the Independent Network asked who would pay for this and when should the DBS be carried out. He explained that this could cause issue if the DBS check took place once the councillor was elected and then had to be ousted as a result.

Despite this, Coun Watson expressed his support of the motion but admitted his