A Wirral councillor is calling for all members to undergo checks to discover if they have criminal records.

Conservative Cllr Lesley Rennie - a former police officer in Wallasey - is writing to the chief executive after it was revealed a recommendation for councillors to be checked has been sitting in the town hall for more than two years.

In April, 2014, the standards committee recommended that Disclosure and Barring Service checks be introduced for councillors from October that year.

But the recommendation has never been actioned.

Councillor Rennie said: “Anyone, employees or volunteers,  who works with children or vulnerable adults must have their backgrounds checked out by the Disclosure and Barring Service at the Home Office - yet for some reason this does not apply to councillors.

" At the moment we have no idea if all 66 councillors in Wirral would pass a criminal record check - but it’s about time we did.

"We must also send a clear message to the wider public that the standards we apply to staff and volunteers also applies to those making the decisions.

“We know that some councils have an appalling record when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable and that, sadly, includes Wirral.

"Why should the standards we expect of our staff not apply to the councillors?

"The £44 cost of the check should be paid by the councillor and the process itself, using the online service introduced by the DBS can give immediate clearance, or alert the council to problems.”

Councillor Rennie has also written to the Home Office urging for the law to be changed and DBS checks for all councillors to be mandatory.

A council spokesman said: "This issue will be referred to the standards and constitutional oversight working group for consideration at its next meeting in September.

"We have sought further information and advice from the Disclosure and Barring Service to be shared at that meeting.

"Members of the public should be reassured that every council officer or elected member who undertakes regulated activity as part of their role does undergo an enhanced DBS check."

The DBS was formed in 2012 by the merger of the Criminal Records Bureau and the Independent Safeguarding Authority and operates from Liverpool and Darlington.

It enables organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to make safer recruitment decisions by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable for certain work, especially that involve children or vulnerable adults, and provides wider access to criminal record information through its disclosure service for England and Wales.

It is a legal requirement in the UK for regulated activity employers to refer safeguarding concerns to the DBS.

It is illegal for anyone barred by the DBS to work, or apply to work with the sector (children or adults) from which they are barred.

It is also illegal for an employer to knowingly employ a barred person in the sector from which they are barred.