Powerchex Application

[Gonzo]

Mother's Family Name

Following the Soham murder case, the Home Secretary requested that Sir Michael Bichard lead an independent inquiry into child protection measures, record keeping, vetting and information sharing.

The report was published in June 2004 and 31 recommendations were made. The mother’s family name became a mandatory field as part of our disclosure application process. It emerged that by using his mother’s maiden name, Ian Huntley managed to escape detection from background vetting checks. This was because the surname he provided when applying for his post differed from the surname under which the police held intelligence for him. Since this change was implemented Disclosure Scotland can obtain criminal information held against an applicant using their mother’s maiden name, this information is therefore relevant.

<SHAKES HEAD>

This will be effective. The criminals will not have the wit to use a completely different surname other than their mother's maiden name.

</SHAKES HEAD>

[darnok]

P.S. Just so you know, their data security policy states that they will hold your data for no longer than 6 months as the information commissioner states that keeping the data any longer than that is not good practice.

How did you come about the figure of 6 months? Is this stated anywhere?