Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 in England

F1. . . For the purposes of this Act any finding that a person is guilty of an offence in respect of any act or omission which was the subject of service disciplinary proceedings shall be treated as a conviction and any punishment awarded F2or order made by virtue of Schedule 5A to the M1Army Act 1955 or to the M2Air Force Act 1955 or Schedule 4A to the M3Naval Discipline Act 1957 in respect of any such finding shall be treated as a sentence.

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In this Act, “service disciplinary proceedings” means any of the following—

whether in any event those proceedings take place in F6England and Wales F7Scotland or elsewhere.

Section 376(1) to (3) of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (“conviction” and “sentence” in relation to summary hearings and the SAC) apply for the purposes of this Act as they apply for the purposes of that Act.

Where

the acceptance, establishment (or deemed establishment) of that ground shall be treated for the purposes of this Act (but not otherwise) as a conviction, and any disposal of the case thereafter by a children’s hearing shall be treated for those purposes as a sentence; and references in this Act to a person’s being charged with or prosecuted for an offence shall be construed accordingly.

In subsection (1)(b), “relevant person” has the meaning given in section 200 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 and includes any individual who is deemed to be a relevant person under section 81(3), or by virtue of an order under section 160(4)(b), of that Act.

This section does not apply where the acts or omissions constituting the ground mentioned in subsection (1) occurred when the child was under 12 years of age.

The sentences excluded from rehabilitation under this Act are—

and any other sentence is a sentence subject to rehabilitation under this Act.

In subsection (1)(b)—

Section 48 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (supplementary provisions relating to ancillary service offences) applies for the purposes of subsection (1ZA)(b)(i) as it applies for the purposes of the provisions of that Act referred to in subsection (3)(b) of that section.

In F17this section—

For the purposes of this Act and subject to subsections F19(2A) to (4), the rehabilitation period for a sentence is the period—

Subsection (2B) applies where provision is made by or under a relevant order for the order to have effect—

The rehabilitation period for the order is the period—

The rehabilitation period for a relevant order which is not otherwise dealt with in the Table or under subsections (2A) and (2B) is the period of 24 months beginning with the date of conviction.

There is no rehabilitation period for—

and, in such cases, references in this Act to any rehabilitation period are to be read as if the period of time were nil.

See also—

The Secretary of State may by order amend column 2 or 3 of the Table or the number of months for the time being specified in subsection (3).

F26Subject to subsection (7A), for the purposes of this section—

Subsection (7)(a) or (b) does not apply for the purposes of determining whether a sentence is excluded from rehabilitation by virtue of subsection (1)(b).

For the purposes of this section, a sentence imposed as mentioned in subsection (7)(f) for an offence—

is to be treated as a sentence for an offence specified in that Schedule (and for this purpose an act punishable under the law in force in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom constitutes an offence under that law, however it is described in that law).

In this section—

• “community or youth rehabilitation order” means—

  1. (a)

     a community order under F29Chapter 2 of Part 9 of the Sentencing Code,

  2. (b)

     a service community order or overseas community order under the Armed Forces Act 2006,

  3. (c)

     a youth rehabilitation order under F30Chapter 1 of Part 9 of the Sentencing Code, or

  4. (d)

     any order of a kind superseded (whether directly or indirectly) by an order mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c),

• “custodial sentence” means—

  1. (a)

     a sentence of imprisonment,

  2. (b)

     a sentence of detention in a young offender institution,

  3. (c)

     a sentence of Borstal training,

  4. (d)

     a sentence of youth custody,

  5. (e)

     a sentence of corrective training,

  6. (f)

     a sentence of detention under F31section 250 F32or 252A of the Sentencing Code or section 209 of the Armed Forces Act 2006,

  7. (g)

     a detention and training order F33within the meaning given by section 233 of the Sentencing Code or an order under section 211 of the Armed Forces Act 2006,

  8. (h)

     any sentence of a kind superseded (whether directly or indirectly) by a sentence mentioned in paragraph (f) or (g),

• “earlier statutory order” means—

  1. (a)

     an order under section 54 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 committing the person convicted to custody in a remand home,

  2. (b)

     an approved school order under section 57 of that Act, or

  3. (c)

     any order of a kind superseded (whether directly or indirectly) by an order mentioned in any of paragraphs (c) to (e) of the definition of “relevant order” or in paragraph (a) or (b) above,

• “relevant order” means—

  1. (za)

     F34a community or youth rehabilitation order,

  2. (a)

     an order discharging a person conditionally for an offence,

  3. (b)

     an order binding a person over to keep the peace or be of good behaviour,

  4. (c)

     an order under section 1(2A) of the Street Offences Act 1959,

  5. (d)

     a hospital order under Part 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (with or without a restriction order),

  6. (e)

     a referral order under F35Chapter 1 of Part 6 of the Sentencing Code,

  7. (f)

     an earlier statutory order, or

  8. (g)

     F36any order which—

     1. (i)

        imposes a disqualification, disability, prohibition, penalty, requirement or restriction, or

     2. (ii)

        is otherwise intended to regulate the behaviour of the person convicted,

     and is not otherwise dealt with in the Table,

  but does not include a reparation order under section 73 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 F37or Chapter 2 of Part 6 of the Sentencing Code,

• “removal from Her Majesty's service” means a sentence of dismissal with disgrace from Her Majesty's service, a sentence of dismissal from Her Majesty's service or a sentence of cashiering or discharge with ignominy,

• “sentence of imprisonment” includes a sentence of penal servitude (and “term of imprisonment” is to be read accordingly),

• “sentence of service detention” means—

  1. (a)

     a sentence of service detention (within the meaning given by section 374 of the Armed Forces Act 2006), or a sentence of detention corresponding to such a sentence, in respect of a conviction in service disciplinary proceedings, or

  2. (b)

     any sentence of a kind superseded (whether directly or indirectly) by a sentence mentioned in paragraph (a).

Where only one sentence is imposed in respect of a conviction F1(not being a sentence excluded from rehabilitation under this Act) the F2rehabilitation disclosure period applicable to the conviction is, subject to the following provisions of this section, the period applicable to the sentence in accordance with F3section 5 sections 5 to 5I above.

Where more than one sentence is imposed in respect of a conviction (whether or not in the same proceedings) F4and none of the sentences imposed is excluded from rehabilitation under this Act, then, subject to the following provisions of this section, if the periods applicable to those sentences in accordance with section 5 sections 5 to 5I above differ, the F5rehabilitation disclosure period applicable to the conviction shall be the longer or the longest (as the case may be) of those periods.

In subsections (1) and (2), the references to sentences do not include excluded sentences.

F7Without prejudice to subsection (2) above, where in respect of a conviction a person was conditionally discharged F8or F9a probation order was made and after the end of the rehabilitation period applicable to the conviction in accordance with subsection (1) or (2) above he is dealt with, in consequence of a breach of conditional discharge F10F11or a breach of the order, for the offence for which the order for conditional discharge or probation order was made was made, then, if the rehabilitation period applicable to the conviction in accordance with subsection (2) above (taking into account any sentence imposed when he is so dealt with) ends later than the rehabilitation period previously applicable to the conviction, he shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as not having become a rehabilitated person in respect of that conviction, and the conviction shall for those purposes be treated as not having become spent, in relation to any period falling before the end of the new rehabilitation period.

Subsection (3ZB) applies where—

Despite the expiry of the original disclosure period, the person is not to be treated for the purposes of this Act as a protected person in respect of the conviction until the expiry of the new disclosure period (and accordingly the conviction is not to be treated as spent until that period has expired).

The list is—

The Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify the list in subsection (3ZC) by—

Regulations under subsection (3ZD) are subject to the affirmative procedure.

Without prejudice to subsection (2), where—

the offender shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as not having become a F15rehabilitated protected person in respect of that conviction, and that conviction shall for those purposes be treated as not having become spent, in relation to any period falling before the end of the new rehabilitation disclosure period.

F16Subject to subsection (5) below, where during the rehabilitation period applicable to a conviction—

if the rehabilitation period applicable in accordance with this section to either of the convictions would end earlier than the period so applicable in relation to the other, the rehabilitation period which would (apart from this subsection) end the earlier shall be extended so as to end at the same time as the other rehabilitation period.

Where—

the disclosure period which would end earlier is extended so as to end at the same time as the other disclosure period (but this rule is subject to subsections (4A) to (5B)).

Subsection (4B) applies where—

Section 4 does not operate so as to extend the disclosure period applicable to the first conviction.

In subsection (4A)—

F18Where the rehabilitation period applicable to a conviction is the rehabilitation period applicable F19to an order within paragraph (g) of the definition of “relevant order” in section 5(8) above, the rehabilitation period applicable to another conviction shall not by virtue of subsection (4) above be extended by reference to that period; but if any other sentence is imposed in respect of the first-mentioned conviction for which a rehabilitation period is prescribed by any other provision of section 5 above, the rehabilitation period applicable to another conviction shall, where appropriate, be extended under subsection (4) above by reference to the rehabilitation period applicable in accordance with that section to that sentence or, where more than one such sentence is imposed, by reference to the longer or longest of the periods so applicable to those sentences, as if the period in question were the rehabilitation period applicable to the first-mentioned conviction.

A disclosure period is not extended in accordance with subsection (4) so as to end at the same time as another disclosure period if—

Subsection (5B) applies where—

In determining whether the disclosure period applicable to another conviction is, in accordance with subsection (4), extended by virtue of the disclosure period applicable to the conviction mentioned in subsection (5A)(a), the disclosure period applicable to the order is to be disregarded.

F21 . . .F22In subsection (4)(a), the reference to a conviction for a further offence does not include—

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nothing in section 4(1) above shall affect—

Nothing in section 4(1) above shall affect the determination of any issue, or prevent the admission or requirement of any evidence, relating to a person’s previous convictions or to circumstances ancillary thereto—

F10. . . F11. . ..

If at any stage in any proceedings before a judicial authority in F12England and Wales (not being proceedings to which, by virtue of any of paragraphs (a) to (e) of subsection (2) above or of any order for the time being in force under subsection (4) below, section 4(1) above has no application, or proceedings to which section 8 below applies) the authority is satisfied, in the light of any considerations which appear to it to be relevant (including any evidence which has been or may thereafter be put before it), that justice cannot be done in the case except by admitting or requiring evidence relating to a person’s spent convictions or to circumstances ancillary thereto, that authority may admit or, as the case may be, require the evidence in question notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of section 4 above, and may determine any issue to which the evidence relates in disregard, so far as necessary, of those provisions.

The Secretary of State may by order exclude the application of section 4(1) above in relation to any proceedings specified in the order (other than proceedings to which section 8 below applies) to such extent and for such purposes as may be so specified.

No order made by a court with respect to any person otherwise than on a conviction shall be included in any list or statement of that person’s previous convictions given or made to any court which is considering how to deal with him in respect of any offence.

This section applies to any action for libel or slander begun after the commencement of this Act by a F1rehabilitated protected person and founded upon the publication of any matter imputing that the plaintiff has committed or been charged with or prosecuted for or convicted of or sentenced for an offence which was the subject of a spent conviction.

Nothing in section 4(1) above shall affect an action to which this section applies where the publication complained of took place before the conviction in question became spent, and the following provisions of this section shall not apply in any such case.

Subject to subsections (5) and (6) below, nothing in section 4(1) above shall prevent the defendant in an action to which this section applies from relying on any defence F2of justification or fair comment orunder section 2 or 3 of the Defamation Act 2013 which is available to him or any defence of absolute or qualified privilege which is available to him, or restrict the matters he may establish in support of any such defence.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3) above, where in any such action malice is alleged against a defendant who is relying on a defence of qualified privilege, nothing in section 4(1) above shall restrict the matters he may establish in rebuttal of the allegation.

A defendant in any such action shall not by virtue of subsection (3) above be entitled to rely upon F3the defence of justificationa defence under section 2 of the Defamation Act 2013 if the publication is proved to have been made with malice.

Subject to subsection (7) below a defendant in any such action shall not, by virtue of subsection (3) above, be entitled to rely on any matter or adduce or require any evidence for the purpose of establishing (whether under F4section 14 of the Defamation Act 1996 F5, section 9 of the Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021 or otherwise) the defence that the matter published constituted a fair and accurate report of judicial proceedings if it is proved that the publication contained a reference to evidence which was ruled to be inadmissible in the proceedings by virtue of section 4(1) above.

Subsection (3) above shall apply without the qualifications imposed by subsection (6) above in relation to—

In the application of this section to Scotland—

Schedule 2 to this Act (protection for spent cautions) shall have effect.

In this Act “ caution ” means—

The following provisions of this Act apply, with the modifications specified in subsection (3), to a spent alternative to prosecution as they apply to a spent caution—

An alternative to prosecution becomes spent for the purposes of this Act when it becomes spent under the law of Scotland.

The modifications mentioned in subsection (1) are—

In this section “alternative to prosecution” has the same meaning as in section 8B as that section has effect in the law of Scotland but disregarding subsection (1)(f) of that section.

In this section—

• “official record” means a record kept for the purposes of its functions by any court, police force, Government department, local or other public authority in Great Britain, or a record kept, in Great Britain or elsewhere, for the purposes of any of Her Majesty’s forces, being in either case a record containing information about persons convicted of offences; and

• “specified information” means information imputing that a named or otherwise identifiable F1rehabilitated living person living protected person has committed or been charged with or prosecuted for or convicted of or sentenced for any offence which is the subject of a spent conviction.

Subject to the provisions of any order made under subsection (5) below, any person who, in the course of his official duties, has or at any time has had custody of or access to any official record or the information contained therein, shall be guilty of an offence if, knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that any specified information he has obtained in the course of those duties is specified information, he discloses it, otherwise than in the course of those duties, to another person.

In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) above it shall be a defence for the F2defendant F3...accused person to show that the disclosure was made—

Any person who obtains any specified information from any official record by means of any fraud, dishonesty or bribe shall be guilty of an offence.

The Secretary of State may by order make such provision as appears to him to be appropriate for excepting the disclosure of specified information derived from an official record from the provisions of subsection (2) above in such cases or classes of case as may be specified in the order.

Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F6level 4 on the standard scale.

Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F7level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both.

Proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) above shall not F9, in England and Wales, be instituted except by or on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In this section—

Subject to the terms of any order made under subsection (5), a relevant person shall be guilty of an offence if, knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that any caution information he has obtained in the course of his official duties is caution information, he discloses it, otherwise than in the course of those duties, to another person.

In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) it shall be a defence for the defendant to show that the disclosure was made—

Any person who obtains any caution information from any official record by means of any fraud, dishonesty or bribe shall be guilty of an offence.

The Secretary of State may by order make such provision as appears to him to be appropriate for excepting the disclosure of caution information derived from an official record from the provisions of subsection (2) in such cases or classes of case as may be specified in the order.

A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

A person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks, or to both.

Proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) shall not be instituted except by or on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Any power of the Secretary of State to make an order under any provision of this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, and an order made under any provision of this Act except section 11 below may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order made under that provision.

Any power of the Secretary of State to make an order under any provision of this Act includes power—

The power of the Secretary of State to make an order under section 5(6) includes power to make consequential provision which amends or repeals any provision of this Act or any other enactment.

No order shall be made by the Secretary of State under any provision of this Act other than section 11 below unless a draft of it has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament.

This Act may be cited as the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This Act shall come into force on 1st July 1975 or such earlier day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.

This Act shall not apply to Northern Ireland.

For the purposes of this Schedule a caution shall be regarded as a spent caution—

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In this Schedule “ancillary circumstances”, in relation to a caution, means any circumstances of the following—

Where the caution relates to two or more offences, references in sub-paragraph (1) to the offence which was the subject of the caution include a reference to each of the offences concerned.

In this Schedule “proceedings before a judicial authority” has the same meaning as in section 4.

A person who is given a caution for an offence shall, from the time the caution is spent, be treated for all purposes in law as a person who has not committed, been charged with or prosecuted for, or been given a caution for the offence; and notwithstanding the provisions of any other enactment or rule of law to the contrary—

Nothing in sub-paragraph (1) applies in relation to any proceedings for the offence which are not part of the ancillary circumstances relating to the caution.

Where a question seeking information with respect to a person's previous cautions, offences, conduct or circumstances is put to him or to any other person otherwise than in proceedings before a judicial authority—

Any obligation imposed on any person by any rule of law or by the provisions of any agreement or arrangement to disclose any matters to any other person shall not extend to requiring him to disclose a spent caution or any ancillary circumstances (whether the caution is his own or another's).

A caution which has become spent or any ancillary circumstances, or any failure to disclose such a caution or any such circumstances, shall not be a proper ground for dismissing or excluding a person from any office, profession, occupation or employment, or for prejudicing him in any way in any occupation or employment.

This paragraph has effect subject to paragraphs 4 to 6.

make provision for excluding or modifying the application of either or both of paragraphs (a) or (b) of paragraph 3(3) in relation to questions put in such circumstances as may be specified in the order;

provide for exceptions from the provisions of sub-paragraphs (4) and (5) of paragraph 3, in such cases or classes of case, and in relation to cautions of such a description, as may be specified in the order.

the operation of the caution in question; or

the operation of any enactment by virtue of which, in consequence of any caution, a person is subject to any disqualification, disability, prohibition F3, requirement or other restriction or effect, the period of which extends beyond the rehabilitation period applicable to the caution.

Section 7(2), (3) and (4) apply for the purposes of this Schedule as follows.

Subsection (2) (apart from paragraphs (b) and (d)) applies to the determination of any issue, and the admission or requirement of any evidence, relating to a person's previous cautions or to ancillary circumstances as it applies to matters relating to a person's previous convictions and circumstances ancillary thereto.

Subsection (3) applies to evidence of a person's previous cautions and ancillary circumstances as it applies to evidence of a person's convictions and the circumstances ancillary thereto; and for this purpose subsection (3) shall have effect as if—

Subsection (4) applies for the purpose of excluding the application of paragraph 3(1); and for that purpose subsection (4) shall have effect as if the words “(other than proceedings to which section 8 below applies)” were omitted.

References in the provisions applied by this paragraph to section 4(1) are to be read as references to paragraph 3(1).

In this Schedule, “ ancillary circumstances ”, in relation to an alternative to prosecution, means any circumstances of the following—

Where an alternative to prosecution is given in respect of two or more offences, references in sub-paragraph (1) to the offence in respect of which the alternative to prosecution is given includes a reference to each of the offences.

In this Schedule, “ proceedings before a judicial authority ” has the same meaning as in section 4.

A person who is given an alternative to prosecution in respect of an offence is, from the time the alternative to prosecution becomes spent, to be treated for all purposes in law as a person who has not committed, been charged with or prosecuted for, or been given an alternative to prosecution in respect of, the offence.

Despite any enactment or rule of law to the contrary—

Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply in relation to any proceedings—

This paragraph applies where a person (“A”) is asked a question, otherwise than in proceedings before a judicial authority, seeking information about—

The question is to be treated as not relating to alternatives to prosecution that have become spent or to any ancillary circumstances and may be answered accordingly.

A is not to be subjected to any liability or otherwise prejudiced in law because of a failure to acknowledge or disclose an alternative to prosecution that has become spent or any ancillary circumstances in answering the question.

An obligation imposed on a person (“A”) by a rule of law or by the provisions of an agreement or arrangement to disclose any matter to another person does not extend to requiring A to disclose an alternative to prosecution (whether one given to A or another person) that has become spent or any ancillary circumstances.

An alternative to prosecution that has become spent or any ancillary circumstances, or any failure to disclose an alternative to prosecution that has become spent or any ancillary circumstances, is not a ground for dismissing or excluding a person from any office, profession, occupation or employment, or for prejudicing the person in any way in any occupation or employment.

exclude or modify the application of either or both of sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) of paragraph 4 in relation to questions put in such circumstances as may be specified in the order,

provide for exceptions from any of the provisions of paragraph 5 in such cases or classes of case, or in relation to alternatives to prosecution of such descriptions, as may be specified in the order

the operation of an alternative to prosecution, or

the operation of an enactment by virtue of which, because of an alternative to prosecution, a person is subject to a disqualification, disability, prohibition or other restriction or effect for a period extending beyond the time at which the alternative to prosecution becomes spent

Section 7(2), (3) and (4) apply for the purpose of this Schedule as follows.

Subsection (2), apart from paragraphs (b) and (d), applies to the determination of any issue, and the admission or requirement of evidence, relating to alternatives to prosecution previously given to a person and to ancillary circumstances as it applies to matters relating to a person's previous convictions and circumstances ancillary thereto.

Subsection (3) applies to evidence of alternatives to prosecution previously given to a person and ancillary circumstances as it applies to evidence of a person's previous convictions and the circumstances ancillary thereto.

For that purpose, subsection (3) has effect as if—

Subsection (4) applies for the purpose of excluding the application of paragraph 3.

For that purpose, subsection (4) has effect as if the words “(other than proceedings to which section 8 below applies)” were omitted.

References in the provisions applied by this paragraph to section 4(1) are to be read as references to paragraph 3.

The powers conferred on the Scottish Ministers by—

may be exercised to make provision relating to reserved matters and are not subject to the restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(b) or (c) of, or Schedule 4 to, the Scotland Act 1998.

In this paragraph, “reserved matters” has the same meaning as in the Scotland Act 1998.