Explanatory note

This Order amends the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2010 (“the 2010 Order”) to require the provision of information held by Scottish Ministers to the UK Central Authority which is designated for the purposes of article 3 of Council Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record between Member States. The UK Central Authority can receive requests from other Member States under Article 10(3) of Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (as read with the Corrigendum) (“the Directive”) for information concerning the existence of any disqualification of an individual from exercising activities involving direct and regular contacts with children arising from a conviction for any of the offences referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of the Directive (which detail various sexual offences in relation to children). In certain circumstances the UK Central Authority, in order to comply with a request made under the Directive, will require information which is held by Scottish Ministers by virtue of performing their functions under Part 1 of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. That information is whether the individual is included in the children’s list as a result of a conviction for any of the offences referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of the Directive. The new article 16A inserted into the 2010 Order by article 2 of this Order requires Scottish Ministers to disclose such information held by them to the UK Central Authority when they receive a request.