Nursery checks to beat criminals

SCOTLAND'S largest police force has united with the Care Commission to stop nurseries being used as a business front for money laundering.

The care watchdog has signed an agreement with Strathclyde Police to share information on childcare service providers in a partnership designed to protect nurseries, which see many cash transactions, from people involved in organised crime.

The move comes amid growing concerns about illegal activities linked to childcare facilities, and will see co-ordinated checks carried out on everyone applying to register services with the Care Commission.

Acting chief executive David Wiseman said: "Recently there have been growing concerns about whether nursery and childcare operators in Glasgow and the Strathclyde region may be involved in illegal activities.

"The safety and wellbeing of children using care services is of the utmost importance and the Care Commission works rigorously to ensure that only fit and proper people are allowed to run these services."

The Care Commission regulates around 15,000 care services looking after 320,000 people.

Strathclyde Police Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton said: "Criminal gangs will go anywhere and try anything to try to clean up the money they get from their harmful illegal activity.

"Nurseries, which by their very nature see a lot of cash transactions, are just one of the businesses that organised criminals have attempted to infiltrate."