Vetting system to end

Millions of people who work or volunteer with children will not need to register under changes outlined in the Protection of Freedoms Bill.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says the new system will be scaled back to "sensible levels whilst at the same time protecting vulnerable people."

Children's charity Barnardo's said the move was a "victory for common sense".

Chief executive Anne Marie Carrie said: "There is already enough safeguarding in place for people who have unsupervised, substantial access to children.

The Government says the move will cut down on bureaucracy.

Rules covering the storage of innocent people's DNA will be tightened, with profiles of those who have not been convicted only being held if they have been charged with a serious crime, and then only for three years.

Daniel Hamilton, from campaign group Big Brother Watch, welcomed the announcement as a "real victory for common sense."

But added: "On the DNA database, however, the bill doesn't go far enough. While today's announcement will see a ban on collecting the DNA of those arrested and not convicted of crimes today, the details of more than 1.1 million innocent people will remain on the Police database. Their records must be deleted."

Powers for local authorities to snoop on people suspected of minor offences will also be cut, preventing town halls from checking bins or using anti-terror powers in school catchment area disputes.

The Bill will also set out plans to regulate CCTV and automatic number plate recognition systems for the first time, to outlaw wheel-clamping on private land, and to ban schools from fingerprinting children without their parents' consent.

It will also contain plans to make it possible for those with old convictions for consensual gay sex to apply for their record to be deleted from the police national computer.