West Northants Council confirm three councillors returned positive criminal record checks since new DBS policy introduced

According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority has requested 141 Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on its members since April 2024. The checks determine if an individual has any past criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands, warnings or information held by police forces.

WNC has revealed that two positive disclosure certificates, which are given when an individual’s record flags up relevant content or offences, were issued in 2024/25 and another one was issued in 2025/26.

Only one positive check relates to an existing councillor in post after the May elections. A WNC spokesperson said that the outstanding disclosure certificate was reviewed by the monitoring officer, who found there was no breach of the Code of Conduct and no further action was deemed necessary.

The majority of the checks requested were standard DBSs, which show spent and unspent convictions and adult cautions from the Police National Computer.

There were 63 councillors who received an enhanced DBS check due to their roles and responsibilities around children and/or vulnerable adults. This shows the same content as a standard check, plus any information held by local police that is considered relevant to the role.

This comes after WNC approved a strengthened DBS policy in July last year, making all sitting councillors subject to criminal record checks for the first time.

The policy followed increased scrutiny over allegations of abuse against the ex-leader Jonathan Nunn, which he always denied, and was a strong demand from members of the public and local charities.

Adam Brown, who had just taken the position as the new council leader at the time, said he hoped introducing the checks would help to “establish trust” in the Council.

Due to a strict confidentiality clause in the DBS policy, WNC cannot name the members that the three positive disclosure certificates relate to. It is an offence under the Police Act 1997 to pass disclosure information to unauthorised persons and failure to maintain confidentiality could result in disciplinary action.

The WNC policy explains: “All allegations may have far-reaching consequences for the Councillor in question and others. It is therefore essential that all information is kept strictly confidential and only disclosed on a ‘need to know’ and lawful basis.”

The only people who are made aware of positive criminal record checks are the individual concerned, the monitoring officer, Chief Executive, and the Local Authority Designated Officer and Leader of the Council, when relevant. External advice may also be sought to ensure the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.

It is understood that WNC is still waiting for some checks to be completed by the DBS service at the time of publication.