A Warwickshire councillor is set to ramp up his quest for all elected officials to undergo and publish criminal record and drugs tests.

Cllr Scott Cameron argues that he and all of his colleagues on Warwickshire County Council should go through an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check – the most detailed available – due to their roles as corporate parents of children in the council's care and regular invites to visit schools and care settings.

He filed a question with leader Cllr George Finch that was due to be read and answered at last month's full council meeting but the volume of other items saw the questions section axed for the second meeting in a row.

A written response from Cllr Finch details how legal restrictions around such checks limit the council's ability not only to insist upon them but to facilitate them, even for the willing.

Members of Warwickshire County Council's cabinet – the Reform UK panel of councillors in charge of major service areas – and its fostering, corporate parenting and adoption panels all undergo enhanced checks but the authority can only declare any information on them to "those authorised to receive it".

Published government guidance states that enhanced checks can only be requested by individuals who can show they are asking for it in relation to a qualifying role.

On that basis, Cllr Finch's response was that Warwickshire County Council could not commit to enhanced DBS checks for all members, nor could it compel any councillor to publish or present theirs to council but confirmed that "they are free to do so if they wish".

Despite all of that, Cllr Cameron has published a photo of his clear certificate online. Dated September 28, 2026, it lists as the position applied for in relation to the check as 'Child and adult workforce, county councillor'.

He argues that council staff working with children and vulnerable adults must be checked and that everyone employed by the authority has to comply with a drugs and alcohol policy which states they cannot work under the influence of either.

Cllr Cameron told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It should be a basic requirement. All councillors should have them.

"After all, we are all corporate parents to the children in our care, we should set a good example to those kids as well as the primary objective of checking that we are all clear to be corporate parents. And that's not to mention the fact that we should all be role models.

"If you've got nothing to hide, why wouldn't you do it?

He stressed the need for them to be done properly through "an independent organisation", and argued that they should not cost the taxpayer any extra money, urging councillors to fund both checks through their annual allowances.

"I paid £58 for my DBS certificate and paid for it out of that," said Cllr Cameron.

"I've seen drug tests available for £42, so that's £100 once a year out of a £12,000 per-year allowance – 10 per cent of one month's allowance. As far as I am concerned it should be taken out of that."

He plans to ask councillors to coalesce around a workable plan to make it happen and if he has no joy will "consider an official motion" – bringing forward a statement of intent that the council would have to vote on in a public setting.

Asked whether the push had been instigated by concerns about specific individuals, Cllr Cameron replied: "Not necessarily, I just think that this should be a baseline requirement for upstanding citizens who represent the public."

He advocates all certificates, irrespective of what they show, being published by councillors either through their own platforms, party websites or alongside declarations of interest on the Warwickshire County Council website, insisting such information is "pertinent", even if that does not necessarily disqualify councillors from continuing in their roles.

His position on drug testing was different, though.

"People shouldn't be under the influence of drugs if they are an elected representative," he said.