The package is designed to protect children from unsuitable adults

They include the requirement that anyone wanting to work with children would have to be vetted by a new Central Barring Unit.

The plans take forward the key recommendations of the Bichard report following the Soham murders.

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said the proposals were designed to create a rigorous vetting system.

The plans, which have been issued for consultation, would prevent unsuitable people gaining paid or voluntary work with children and adults at risk.

The proposals include:

• introducing a list of those unsuitable to work with at-risk adults, to run alongside an extended disqualified from working with children list

• continuous updating of the barred lists and notifying an employer if new information comes to light

• introducing a vetting and barring disclosure check to centralise and streamline the existing process

• establishing a central barring unit to assess whether someone should be placed on one, or both, of the lists

• enabling parents, personal employers and organisations to check whether a private tutor or personal carer is on a barred list.

As an interim measure from April, the Scottish Executive said it would widen employers' access to disclosure checks to cover all posts that involve working with children and adults at risk.

The proposals would complement the Protection of Adults (Scotland) Bill, which ministers are expected to introduce next month.

We're committed to doing all we can to improve child protection in Scotland Peter Peacock Education Minister

Ms Jamieson said disclosure checks played an important part in preventing unsuitable people from obtaining positions of trust.

She added: "We are determined to do everything we can as quickly as we can to strengthen the vetting system and ensure we have a rigorous system, which works across borders and provides our children and adults at risk with the protection they deserve."

Education Minister Peter Peacock said no-one could offer a 100% guarantee of safety.

However, he said the proposals would make it increasingly less likely that someone unsuitable to work with children could "slip through the net".

Mr Peacock added: "Few things are as important as protecting those who cannot help themselves. That's why we're committed to doing all we can to improve child protection in Scotland."

'Improve protection'

The Scottish Tories said they had sought assurances from the education minister that adults working with children had been "disclosure-checked".

Tory education spokesman James Douglas-Hamilton said: "He responded that he was less sure about the years before checks were brought in but confident about the years after.

"I look forward to working with the executive in strengthening the vetting system to provide vulnerable children and adults with the protection they deserve."

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) said children had the right to be protected and should be allowed to flourish without fear and mistrust.