VISITS by Father Christmas to Pembrokeshire schools have been cancelled over “red tape gone mad”.

The Western Telegraph has seen a letter sent by Pembrokeshire County Council director of education Graham Longster to every county headteacher.

It details instructions from the Ministerial Advisory Board – the group set up to oversee improvements to child safeguarding – that every volunteer who plays Father Christmas or his helpers at a school, no matter however brief the appearance, must be checked by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

That includes parents and grandparents who pull on the red suit to hand out presents at school events under the supervision of staff and when Father Christmas or his helpers are rarely, if ever, alone with children.

The county council received the instructions on December 7th, when most schools had already organised their Christmas festivities and when it was far too late to apply for CRB checks anyway. That has left headteachers and community organisations scrambling to find fully vetted volunteers, but for some cancellation has been the only option.

Fishguard and Goodwick Round Table have been accompanying Father Christmas into local schools for several years and Round Tablers usually enter a hall packed with children and hand out sweets. But, having received the letter they have decided not to go ahead this year.

“Our Father Christmas, the mayor Richard Davies, is CRB checked,” said chairman Peter Devonald. “But we would all have to have CRB checks as well [in order to accompany him] so we decided that we couldn’t do it.

“These are the modern times we live in, there’s nothing we can do about it, our hands are tied.

Personally I think the common sense approach would be better. It is a little bit over the top but what can we do?”

Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb agreed. He said: “This is red tape gone mad. Criminal record checks were never supposed to be used for family volunteers that sustain and support so much of school life on an infrequent basis.

“Where a parent or grandparent is visiting dressed as Santa, in the company of teaching staff, it’s impractical and heavy-handed to put them through a criminal check.

Supervision and proper oversight is a much better tool, in these instances, than reliance on the CRB.”

The county council told the Western Telegraph that its understanding of the CRB rules differed from that of the Ministerial Advisory Board.

“From our understanding, there is no legal requirement for people who carry out this sort of role to be formally checked with the CRB.

“This is because such volunteers are normally present at the school on only one occasion for a short period of time in a supervised capacity. Such arrangements do not fall within the definition of being a ‘regulated activity’ under CRB guidance.

“However, the view expressed to the council by officials of the Welsh Government is that such one-off volunteers should be fully vetted.

“Unfortunately this matter was only raised with the council on December 7th and may therefore require schools and other organisations to make alternative arrangements in respect of their Christmas activities.”

The Welsh Government told the Western Telegraph: “It is for Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure appropriate checks are made on staff and volunteers who come into contact with children. The Pembrokeshire Ministerial Board’s role is to provide support and challenge to the council in delivering the improvements required, including complying with appropriate legislation for safeguarding children.”