Criminal records: a comparison between England and Israel

We know that in the UK, people with criminal records can face stigma, discrimination and barriers which prevent them from being able to move on from their past and make a positive contribution to society. These barriers most commonly relate to employment, but people with convictions can also find themselves locked out of volunteering, access

What is the rationale behind the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974?

In a week where the Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland, said that he was preparing a policy that looked at making changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA), we’re pleased to publish a paper by Dr Andrew Henley (Assistant Professor of Criminology at the University of Nottingham) on the rationale behind that piece of

Blog – Looking to the future: incentivising employment of people with convictions

It’s fair to say 2020 has been a year of major change – and we’re only halfway through. Whether you’ve been adapting to home working, learning a new skill, or embracing your natural hair, we’re all dealing with change. That can be challenging but there’s a sense that this moment is a portal to the
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Unlock Annual Report 2018-19

We are delighted to publish our Annual Report and Accounts for the year 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. Reviewing a whole year of activity can be a demanding process. Our activities are always taking us forwards, driving us on to the next challenge, so to take a step away, look back and reflect,

Unlock Annual Report 2017/2018

              We are delighted to publish the Unlock Annual Report 2017/2018. We have achieved outstanding success at both service delivery and policy levels, reflecting the hard work and dedication of the Unlock team. The report reflects how we have helped people with convictions by: Providing direct support to individuals

New good practice resources for higher education providers

The piece below has been published as part of new good practice resources for universities, published by UCAS, which Unlock has supported. Unlock very much welcomes the removal of the main criminal conviction box from the UCAS application. Having worked with higher education providers for a number of years, the previous approach presented a barrier to
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Financial incentives to encourage employers

In our priorities for government, we highlight financial incentives as a key way that government can support business and encourage employers to recruit people leaving prison or on probation and people with unspent convictions. Many businesses are fearful of hiring people with a criminal record. 75% of companies admit to discriminating against applicants who declare
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Unlock submission on proposals to amend disclosure rules in Scotland

Unlock has made a submission to the Scottish Government in response to their call for views on the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Bill. The focus of our response is on Part 2 of the Bill – Disclosure of convictions. Download Unlock’s submission.

New ’10 things about criminal records’ guide for employability professionals

February 2019 update – We have done some work to update the original guide and have now published a version 2 of the guide. People with criminal records make up a sizeable proportion of the unemployed population – 33% of Job Seekers Allowance claimants have received a criminal record in the last ten years. For

We submit evidence to House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion

As part of the House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion, we have submitted written evidence, focusing on financial exclusion issues where a criminal record per se causes a problem. Download: Unlock’s written evidence to House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion You can find out more about the Select Committee on the Parliament

Our response to the Charity Commission’s consultation on power to disqualify from acting as a trustee

We have today published our response to the Charity Commission’s consultation on power to disqualify from acting as a trustee Background In May 2016, the Charity Commission launched a consultation on power to disqualify from acting as a trustee. Download: Submission: Unlock’s response to Charity Commission consultation on power to disqualify from acting as a trustee More

Our response to the Government consultation on childcare disqualification

We have today published our response to the Government consultation on childcare disqualification Background In May 2016, the Department for Education launched a consultation into amending the childcare disqualification arrangements. Download: Submission – Response to the Government consultation on childcare disqualification More information about our policy work on disqualification by association.