British child abuse vetting scheme cancelled as 'draconian'

British child abuse vetting scheme cancelled as 'draconian'

Jun 15 2010

The vetting scheme that, in its original proposal, would have required one in four British adults to go through a government approval process before being allowed contact with children and vulnerable adults, has been scrapped by the new British government as draconian. The scheme would have required all school volunteers, including authors visiting just for an hour or two, to undergo a complete screening, and pay a fee of 64 UK pounds (~$100).

Author Philip Pullman had attacked the original plans as "ludicrous and insulting". He and other writers had said they would stop going to schools if the changes went ahead.

The government is now contacting 66,000 organizations, including charities, voluntary groups and education authorities, to tell them that the planned registration is being canceled.

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