DBS check is a criminal background check, usually carried out before a person takes on a new role.
Such checks can help to verify that the person is of good character, has no previous convictions that may make them untrustworthy and that they do not pose a risk to the safety of other people.
An enhanced check will disclose any spent and unspent convictions, cautions, warnings, and reprimands. It may also disclose additional relevant police notes and information about the person.
The position held by a councillor is very different from that of an employee. For relevant types of employment a DBS check will form part of pre-employment checks.
An unsatisfactory DBS check will result in the withdrawal of an offer of employment. However, provided a councillor qualifies to stand for election, is not disqualified from holding office and is duly elected then information later disclosed through an enhanced DBS check will not on its own result in them losing office.
One of the disqualifications from holding office as a councillor arises if a person has within five years before the day of election or since election been convicted in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man of any offence and has had passed on them a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of not less than three months without the option of a fine.
Enhanced DBS checking might establish that a councillor who, whilst no longer disqualified from office, has longer than five years before, committed offences that make them unsuitable for appointment to certain roles within the Council or to outside bodies.
As a result of more recent disqualifications introduced by the Local Government (Disqualifications) Act 2022 a person is disqualified from being elected or being a member of a local authority in England if they are subject to certain notification requirements or orders relating to sexual offences and the prevention of sexual harm.
circumstances in which a person is not the subject of such an order and is not therefore disqualified but an enhanced DBS check might identify them as having committed historic offences.