Home Office regulations broaden when employers and licensing bodies can request enhanced criminal record certificates under Part V of the Police Act 1997. The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 add two new prescribed purposes: deciding an applicant’s suitability to obtain or hold a London pedicab driver licence, and determining suitability to work as a registered health care professional employed or engaged by the Department for Work and Pensions, including via contractors and sub‑contractors. The instrument was made on 25 November 2025, laid on 27 November 2025, and takes effect on 21 January 2026. In practice, the changes enable enhanced checks-and, in prescribed cases, inclusion of children’s and adults’ barred list information-where an applicant will assess children or vulnerable adults or where a pedicab licence is being considered.
Regulation 2 amends the 2002 Regulations in two ways. First, it imports the statutory definition of “registered health care professional” from section 39(1) of the Social Security Act 1998 to anchor eligibility on a recognised list of regulated professions. Second, it adds new entries to regulation 5A so that enhanced certificates can be obtained for pedicab driver licensing under section 2 of the Pedicabs (London) Act 2024 and for registered health care professionals working for DWP or its delivery partners.
Regulation 3 updates the 2009 Regulations so that, in these scenarios, an enhanced certificate may include “suitability information” about children and vulnerable adults. That includes whether the applicant is on the relevant barred list, where the role involves assessing children or vulnerable adults in DWP‑commissioned activity, and it extends the same approach to pedicab driver licensing decisions. This sits alongside sections 113BA and 113BB of the Police Act 1997 and the barred‑list framework under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.
For London licensing teams, the legal route to request enhanced checks is now explicit. The Pedicabs (London) Act 2024 empowers Transport for London to license pedicabs, drivers and operators and to set conditions after consultation. TfL’s published proposals already envisage criminal record checks for drivers; this instrument confirms those checks can be at the enhanced level, with access to local police information and, where prescribed, barred lists.
For the DWP supply chain, the change clarifies that enhanced checks may be requested for registered health care professionals employed by DWP and by FAS providers and sub‑contractors delivering benefit‑related health assessments. DWP’s own notices describe a programme of around two million assessments a year informing decisions on Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance and specialist benefits, undertaken by registered clinicians. Where these clinicians assess children or vulnerable adults, barred list checks will apply as part of the enhanced certificate.
What an enhanced check shows remains unchanged. Enhanced certificates can include relevant police information, subject to the statutory necessity and relevance test applied by chief officers. Where the role is eligible, the certificate can also include a check of one or both barred lists. Recruiters must be legally entitled to ask an “exempted question” before requesting a higher‑level check; knowingly seeking a check above the lawful level is prohibited. The new instrument widens lawful entitlement for the two specified categories; it does not alter filtering rules or the definition of regulated activity.
Scope and geography are clear. The regulations extend to England and Wales. Pedicab licensing is specific to Greater London and administered by Transport for London under the 2024 Act; other areas are unaffected. The licensing power, including conditions and fees, is set out in primary legislation and will be implemented through TfL regulations following consultation.
For licensing and HR teams, the immediate task is procedural. TfL and any delegated partners should align application forms and decision pathways with enhanced DBS eligibility for pedicab licences. DWP and contractors should review recruitment packs, privacy notices and countersignatory arrangements so that enhanced and, where applicable, barred‑list checks are requested only for roles that now qualify in law. This keeps processes compliant with DBS eligibility rules and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act exceptions order.
The timeline supports a short implementation window. With commencement on 21 January 2026, organisations have under two months to update role justifications, configure e‑bulk submissions where used, brief countersignatories and incorporate the new legal bases into internal guidance. Early alignment reduces the risk of unlawful requests or delays once applications begin.
The instrument is signed by the Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State at the Home Office. That ministerial portfolio includes oversight of the Disclosure and Barring Service, which is responsible for issuing criminal record certificates and managing the barred lists, placing this change squarely within the Home Office’s safeguarding responsibilities.