Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Rehabilitated persons and spent convictions

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• (1) Subject to subsection (2) subsections (2), (5) and (6) below, where an individual has been convicted, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, of any offence or offences, and the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say—

• (a) he did not have imposed on him in respect of that conviction a sentence which is excluded from rehabilitation under this Act; and

• (b) he has not had imposed on him in respect of a subsequent conviction during the rehabilitation period applicable to the first-mentioned conviction in accordance with section 6 below a sentence which is excluded from rehabilitation under this Act;

then, after the end of the rehabilitation period so applicable (including, where appropriate, any extension under section 6(4) below of the period originally applicable to the first-mentioned conviction) or, where that rehabilitation period ended before the commencement of this Act, after the commencement of this Act, that individual shall for the purposes of this Act be treated as a rehabilitated person in respect of the first-mentioned conviction and that conviction shall for those purposes be treated as spent.

• (1) Subsections (1A) and (1B) apply where—

• (a) an individual has at any time been convicted of any offence, and

• (b) an excluded sentence was not imposed on the individual in respect of the conviction.

• (1A) After the expiry of the disclosure period applicable to the conviction in accordance with section 6 (including any extension under subsection (4) of that section)—

• (a) the individual is, for the purposes of this Act, to be treated as a protected person in respect of the conviction, and

• (b) the conviction is, for the purposes of this Act, to be treated as spent.

• (1B) But where the disclosure period so applicable expired before commencement of this Act, the individual and conviction are to be treated as mentioned in subsection (1A) from the date of commencement of this Act.

• (1C) Subsections (1) to (1B) are subject to subsections (2), (5) and (6) and (5) to (8).

• (2) A person shall not become a rehabilitated protected person for the purposes of this Act in respect of a conviction unless he has served or otherwise undergone or complied with any sentence imposed on him in respect of that conviction; but the following shall not, by virtue of this subsection, prevent a person from becoming a rehabilitated protected person for those purposes—

• (a) failure to pay a fine or other sum adjudged to be paid by or imposed on a conviction, or breach of a condition of a recognizance or of a bond of caution to keep the peace or be of good behaviour;

• (b) breach of any condition or requirement applicable in relation to a sentence which renders the person to whom it applies liable to be dealt with for the offence for which the sentence was imposed, or, where the sentence was a suspended sentence of imprisonment, liable to be dealt with in respect of that sentence (whether or not, in any case, he is in fact so dealt with);

• (c) failure to comply with any requirement of a suspended sentence supervision order.

• (2A) Where in respect of a conviction a person has been sentenced to imprisonment with an order under s. 47(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977, he is to be treated for the purposes of subsection (2) above as having served the sentence as soon as he completes service of so much of the sentence as was by that order required to be served in prison.

• (2B) In subsection (2)(a) above the reference to a fine or other sum adjudged to be paid by or imposed on a conviction does not include a reference to an amount payable under a confiscation order made under Part 2 or 3 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

• (3) In this Act “sentence” includes any order made by a court in dealing with a person in respect of his conviction of any offence or offences, other than—

• (za) a surcharge imposed under section 161A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 or section 42 of the Sentencing Code;

• (zb) a hospital direction under section 59A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995;

• (zc) a victim surcharge imposed under section 253F of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995;

• (a) an order for committal or any other order made in default of payment of any fine or other sum adjudged to be paid by or imposed on a conviction, or for want of sufficient distress to satisfy any such fine or other sum;

• (b) an order dealing with a person in respect of a suspended sentence of imprisonment.

• (c) an order under section 21A of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 or section 46 of the Sentencing Code (criminal courts charge).

• (3A) In subsection (3)(a), the reference to want of sufficient distress to satisfy a fine or other sum includes a reference to circumstances where—

• (a) there is power to use the procedure in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 to recover the fine or other sum from a person, but

• (b) it appears, after an attempt has been made to exercise the power, that the person's goods are insufficient to pay the amount outstanding (as defined by paragraph 50(3) of that Schedule).

• (4) In this Act, references to a conviction, however expressed, include references—

• (a) to a conviction by or before a court outside England and Wales Scotland; and

• (b) to any finding (other than a finding linked with a finding of insanity or, as the case may be, a finding that a person is not criminally responsible under section 51A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.46)) in any criminal proceedings . . . that a person has committed an offence or done the act or made the omission charged;

and notwithstanding anything in section 247 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.46) or section 82 of the Sentencing Code or section 187 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 a conviction in respect of which an order is made discharging the person concerned absolutely or conditionally shall be treated as a conviction for the purposes of this Act and the person in question may become a rehabilitated protected person in respect of that conviction and the conviction a spent conviction for those purposes accordingly.

• (4A) In this Act, an “excluded sentence” is a sentence listed in section 5(1).

• (5) This Act does not apply to any disregarded conviction or caution within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 5 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

• (6) Accordingly, references in this Act to a conviction or caution do not include references to any such disregarded conviction or caution.

• (7) This Act does not apply to any conviction of an offence committed when the individual was under 12 years of age.

• (8) Accordingly, references in this Act to a conviction do not include references to any such conviction.

Rehabilitation of persons dealt with in service disciplinary proceedings

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• (1) . . . For the purposes of this Act any finding that a person is guilty of an offence in respect of any act or omission which was the subject of service disciplinary proceedings shall be treated as a conviction and any punishment awarded or order made by virtue of Schedule 5A to the Army Act 1955 or to the Air Force Act 1955 or Schedule 4A to the Naval Discipline Act 1957 in respect of any such finding shall be treated as a sentence.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) In this Act, “service disciplinary proceedings” means any of the following—

• (za) any proceedings (whether or not before a court) in respect of a service offence within the meaning of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (except proceedings before a civilian court within the meaning of that Act);

• (a) any proceedings under the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955, or the Naval Discipline Act 1957 whether before a court-martial or before any other court or person authorised thereunder to award a punishment in respect of any offence);

• (b) any proceedings under any Act previously in force corresponding to any of the Acts mentioned in paragraph (a) above;

• (bb) any proceedings before a Standing Civilian Court established under the Armed Forces Act 1976;

• (c) any proceedings under any corresponding enactment or law applying to a force, other than a home force, to which section 4 of the Visiting Forces (British Commonwealth) Act 1933 applies or applied at the time of the proceedings, being proceedings in respect of a member of a home force who is or was at that time attached to the first-mentioned force under that section;

whether in any event those proceedings take place in England and Wales Scotland or elsewhere.

• (6) Section 376(1) to (3) of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (“conviction” and “sentence” in relation to summary hearings and the SAC) apply for the purposes of this Act as they apply for the purposes of that Act.

Special provision with respect to certain disposals by children's hearings under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968

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• (1) Where

• (a) a ground for the referral of a child’s case to a children’s hearing under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 is that mentioned in section 52(2)(i) of that Act (commission by the child of an offence) and that ground has either been accepted by the child and, where necessary, by his parent or been established (or deemed established) to the satisfaction of the sheriff under section 68 or 85 of that Act , or

• (b) one or more of the section 67 grounds under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 is that mentioned in section 67(2)(j) of that Act (meaning of “section 67 ground”) and that ground has either been accepted by the child and, where necessary, by any person who is a relevant person, or has been established to the satisfaction of the sheriff under section 108 or 114 of that Act,

the acceptance, establishment (or deemed establishment) of that ground shall be treated for the purposes of this Act (but not otherwise) as a conviction, and any disposal of the case thereafter by a children’s hearing shall be treated for those purposes as a sentence; and references in this Act to a person’s being charged with or prosecuted for an offence shall be construed accordingly.

• (2) In subsection (1)(b), “relevant person” has the meaning given in section 200 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 and includes any individual who is deemed to be a relevant person under section 81(3), or by virtue of an order under section 160(4)(b), of that Act.

• (3) This section does not apply where the acts or omissions constituting the ground mentioned in subsection (1) occurred when the child was under 12 years of age.

Effect of rehabilitation

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• (1) Subject to sections 7 and 8 below, a person who has become a rehabilitated protected person for the purposes of this Act in respect of a conviction shall be treated for all purposes in law as a person who has not committed or been charged with or prosecuted for or convicted of or sentenced for the offence or offences which were the subject of that conviction; and, notwithstanding the provisions of any other enactment or rule of law to the contrary, but subject as aforesaid—

• (a) no evidence shall be admissible in any proceedings before a judicial authority exercising its jurisdiction or functions in England and Wales Scotland to prove that any such person has committed or been charged with or prosecuted for or convicted of or sentenced for any offence which was the subject of a spent conviction; and

• (b) a person shall not, in any such proceedings, be asked, and, if asked, shall not be required to answer, any question relating to his past which cannot be answered without acknowledging or referring to a spent conviction or spent convictions or any circumstances ancillary thereto.

• (2) Subject to the provisions of any order made under subsection (4) below, where a question seeking information with respect to a person’s previous convictions, offences, conduct or circumstances is put to him or to any other person otherwise than in proceedings before a judicial authority—

• (a) the question shall be treated as not relating to spent convictions or to any circumstances ancillary to spent convictions, and the answer thereto may be framed accordingly; and

• (b) the person questioned shall not be subjected to any liability or otherwise prejudiced in law by reason of any failure to acknowledge or disclose a spent conviction or any circumstances ancillary to a spent conviction in his answer to the question.

• (3) Subject to the provisions of any order made under subsection (4) below,—

• (a) any obligation imposed on any person by any rule of law or by the provisions of any agreement or arrangement to disclose any matters to any other person shall not extend to requiring him to disclose a spent conviction or any circumstances ancillary to a spent conviction (whether the conviction is his own or another’s); and

• (b) a conviction which has become spent or any circumstances ancillary thereto, or any failure to disclose a spent conviction or any such circumstances, shall not be a proper ground for dismissing or excluding a person from any office, profession, occupation or employment, or for prejudicing him in any way in any occupation or employment.

• (4) The Secretary of State may by order—

• (a) make such provision as seems to him appropriate for excluding or modifying the application of either or both of paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) above in relation to questions put in such circumstances as may be specified in the order;

• (b) provide for such exceptions from the provisions of subsection (3) above as seem to him appropriate, in such cases or classes of case, and in relation to convictions of such a description, as may be specified in the order.

• (5) For the purposes of this section and section 7 below any of the following are circumstances ancillary to a conviction, that is to say—

• (a) the offence or offences which were the subject of that conviction;

• (b) the conduct constituting that offence or those offences; and

• (c) any process or proceedings preliminary to that conviction, any sentence imposed in respect of that conviction, any proceedings (whether by way of appeal or otherwise) for reviewing that conviction or any such sentence, and anything done in pursuance of or undergone in compliance with any such sentence.

• (6) For the purposes of this section and section 7 below “proceedings before a judicial authority” includes, in addition to proceedings before any of the ordinary courts of law, proceedings before any tribunal, body or person having power—

• (a) by virtue of any enactment, law, custom or practice;

• (b) under the rules governing any association, institution, profession, occupation or employment; or

• (c) under any provision of an agreement providing for arbitration with respect to questions arising thereunder;

to determine any question affecting the rights, privileges, obligations or liabilities of any person, or to receive evidence affecting the determination of any such question.

Rehabilitation periods for particular sentences

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• (1) The sentences excluded from rehabilitation under this Act are—

• (a) a sentence of imprisonment for life;

• (b) any of the following sentences, where the sentence is imposed for an offence specified in Schedule 18 to the Sentencing Code (serious violent, sexual and terrorism offences) or a service offence as respects which the corresponding offence is so specified—

• (i) a sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding 4 years;

• (ii) a sentence of youth custody for such a term;

• (iii) a sentence of detention in a young offender institution for such a term;

• (iv) a sentence of corrective training for such a term;

• (v) a sentence of detention under section 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 for such a term;

• (vi) a sentence of detention under section 250 or 252A of the Sentencing Code for such a term;

• (vii) a sentence of detention under section 209 or 224B of the Armed Forces Act 2006 for such a term;

• (viii) a sentence of detention under section 205ZC(5) or 208 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 for such a term;

• (c) a sentence of preventive detention; . . .

• (d) a sentence of detention during Her Majesty’s pleasure or for life under section 90 or 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 , under section 250 or 259 of the Sentencing Code or under section 209 or 218 of the Armed Forces Act 2006, or under section 205(2) or (3) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, ...

• (e) a sentence of custody for life; and

• (f) a sentence of imprisonment for public protection under section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, a sentence of detention for public protection under section 226 of that Act or an extended sentence under section 226A, 226B, 227 or 228 of that Act or section 254, 266 or 279 of the Sentencing Code (including any sentence within this paragraph passed as a result of any of sections 219 to 222 of the Armed Forces Act 2006)

and any other sentence is a sentence subject to rehabilitation under this Act.

• (1ZA) In subsection (1)(b)—

• (a) “service offence” means an offence under—

• (i) section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006,

• (ii) section 70 of the Army Act 1955 or Air Force Act 1955, or

• (iii) section 42 of the Naval Discipline Act 1957, and

• (b) “corresponding offence” means—

• (i) in relation to an offence under section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006, the corresponding offence under the law of England and Wales within the meaning of that section;

• (ii) in relation to an offence under section 70 of the Army Act 1955 or the Air Force Act 1955, the corresponding civil offence within the meaning of that Act;

• (iii) in relation to an offence under section 42 of the Naval Discipline Act 1957, the civil offence within the meaning of that section.