Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons hon. Members and their staff are not subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Any individual may request a basic disclosure certificate, which shows unspent
conditional cautions and convictions. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 outlines some circumstances where spent cautions and convictions are disclosable and may be taken into account when assessing a person’s suitability for certain positions. Broadly speaking, standard and enhanced criminal record checks are only available in relation to jobs which involve special risks and sensitivities, such as working closely with children or vulnerable adults. Standard and enhanced checks are intended to support employers making safer recruitment decisions when employing people to work with vulnerable people

The Disclosure and Barring service has issued guidance on eligibility for a criminal records check and it is available here:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/dbs-eligibility-guidance