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<p>The department does not collect or hold information on the criminal convictions
of its civil servants.</p><p>The department does require that, prior to commencing
employment, individuals have cleared the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS).
This includes a check for live convictions and is the minimum level of clearance for
all people working across the Civil Service. These checks are also carried out for
existing civil servants moving into the department.</p><p>If checks highlight convictions,
the department will consider the appointment if a conviction relates to any of the
following: life sentences, arson, sexual offences, hate and terror offences, the department
will also consider the specific offence against the nature of the business, i.e.,
a conviction for fraud may rule you out for a finance role (the department also undertakes
an internal fraud database check, which identifies civil servants who have been dismissed
for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned).</p><p>The
department is engaged in the ‘Civil Service Prison Leavers’ scheme but has not yet
made any appointments. This scheme ensures that if an individual is a prison leaver,
then having a criminal conviction is not a barrier to joining the Civil Service. The
department only asks about criminal convictions once a job offer has been made and
excepted and the BPSS checks completed.</p><p>The department expects its civil servants
to abide by the Civil Service Code of Conduct and the departmental standards of behaviour.
Employees must inform their manager if they are arrested, are charged and released,
refused bail, or convicted of any criminal offence. If they fail to do so, the department
will take disciplinary action for non-disclosure.</p>
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