Following the conviction of Ian Huntley for the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells, the Home Secretary announced (Hansard 18 December 2003, col 150WS-151WS) the setting up of an independent inquiry, headed by Sir Michael Bichard, with the following terms of reference:
"Urgently to enquire into child protection procedures in Humberside Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary in the light of the recent trial and conviction of Ian Huntley for the murder of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells. In particular to assess the effectiveness of the relevant intelligence-based record keeping, the vetting practises in those forces since 1995 and information sharing with other agencies, and to report to the Home Secretary on matters of local and national relevance and make recommendations as appropriate."
In response to an invitation from Sir Michael, the Home Office and CRB have submitted written evidence to the Inquiry. The Inquiry published these and a number of other written submissions on their website (www.bichardinquiry.org.uk) on 16 February.
Paragraphs 107 to 117 of the Home Office evidence to the Inquiry addresses the measures the Government is taking to improve substantially the timeliness with which conviction data is recorded on the Police National Computer (an issue raised in paragraph 2.16 of the NAO Report).