Applicants for basic disclosure under age 18: FOI release

FOI reference: FOI/17/01230
Date received: 1 June 2017
Date responded: 5 July 2017

Information requested

1. How many applications were processed each year beginning Jan 2012 where the applicant was aged under 18 at the time of application?

2. How many of these checks revealed unspent cautions of convictions?

3. How many of these checks revealed a conviction where the applicant received a custodial sentence of more than 4 years?

Response

The information you requested is provided in the table below.

Year	(1) - Number of applications processed where applicant was aged under 18 at time of application	(2) - Number of those checks from (1) which revealed unspent convictions	(3) - Number of those checks from (2) which revealed a conviction where the applicant received a custodial sentence of more than four years
2012b	12,320	70	:
2013b	11,150	50	:
2014	14,240	50	0
2015	14,060	50	0
2016	17,640	100	0

* Sources: Disclosure Scotland PVG and Workflow systems

Notes:
a - Data rounded to nearest 10
b - Part of the data for 2012 and 2013 where gathered using a legacy system (now decommissioned). A summary database from the legacy system has been used to derive the information for Questions 1 and 2. However the summary database does not contain the level of conviction data required to satisfactorily answer Question 3. Consequently this information is not available.
c - Relevant ROA and LASPO rules applied pre/post 10th March 2014 in answering Question 2
: - This information is not available. See note b above.*

To clarify the response to Question 3, no basic applications were found for years 2014 to 2016 where the applicant had received a custodial sentence of 4 years or more and none were also found with custodial; sentences of 2.5 years or more prior to 10th March 2014.

In respect of the answer for Question 3 for years 2012 and 2013 while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12. You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. You may find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on her website at: (http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.)

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