All Oxfordshire county councillors are to have criminal record checks, following public concern about children's safety in the wake of the Soham murders.

Last December, Ian Huntley was found guilty of the murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Inquiries are now under way as to how Huntley, a caretaker, was cleared to work with children, despite past claims of rape and indecent assault against him.

County council staff and volunteers who have access to children already undergo the Criminal Records Bureau checks and, yesterday, members of the council's standards committee unanimously agreed that all councillors should undergo the checks themselves.

Some councillors work with children on the Children's Panel, which seeks the views of young people on foster homes, children's rights and other social care issues.

Zoe Patrick, Liberal Democrat county councillor for Grove, said: "The Soham case has highlighted the need to do everything possible to protect children.

"While not all councillors work with children, we thought it fair to agree that all councillors should undergo standard CRB checks.

"There is absolutely no suggestion that any councillors have done anything wrong -- this is purely a precautionary measure -- but it does show what a responsible public role councillors have. "New councillors will undergo the checks once they have been elected, following each four-year election cycle."

The committee heard that, at present, there is no national guidance concerning CRB checks for councillors.

They are not allowed to stand for election if they have been sentenced to a period of three months' imprisonment or more, suspended or not, within five years of the election date. The standards committee's recommendation will go before a full meeting of councillors in April.

Alex Hollingsworth, leader of Oxford City Council, said its members were not being asked to undergo checks at present.

He added: "We await Government guidance on this, and when it arrives we will take it seriously."

The CRB was set up as a Home Office agency as a result of the Police Act 1997, although it did not begin work until March 2002.

The CRB accesses the Police National Computer, which has details of offences from England and Wales, and copies of relevant Scottish criminal records.

A new crime database is being planned to prevent sex crime suspects such as Ian Huntley evading vetting checks. Although there are national databases on specialised areas of crime there is no link between the databases of the 43 forces in England and Wales.