Archive for the ‘Other News’ Category

We recently attended a meeting with our CRB and Home Office colleagues regarding the proposed changes to the ISA, CRB and Disclosure process.

Please see the summary of the proposed changes to Disclosures for further details.

Please be aware that once the Protection of Freedoms Bill is passed in early 2012 the Home Office will have the task of putting in place new systems to make the regulations work (they anticipate 2013 completion of this task).

This is where you come in,  we need your views on these proposals.

Question 1: What do you agree with, what do you disagree with; do you think they will work for/against your organisation; do you have any questions?

An important issue we wish to raise are the proposed amendments to the definition of Regulated Activity relating to both children and vulnerable adults. In particular the definition of  the terms “supervision” including “mutual supervision”, “close and constant supervision” and “day to day supervision” and the definition of “health care” and “personal care”. This will make the difference between eligibility for an Enhanced disclosure and potentially no check at all.

Question 2: What defines supervision, health care and personal care to you or within your work environment?

Please send your views or concerns on either or both questions in order that we can pass them on to the Home Office for consideration and possible implementation into the new systems.

Have your say!!

Email your comments to us at: dbscomments@arcuk.org.uk

New Regulations have been laid in Parliament to set out which Police data sources will be searched by the CRB.  An Enhanced CRB check will now focus on a more targeted search method and one that will continue to provide customers with information about convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings and any non-conviction information held locally by the police.

Applicants’ details will no longer be sent to police forces based solely on their five year address history, where CRB’s matching process has already determined, by interrogating police information systems, that no other information is held about them by the police.  The only exception to this will be where the occupation of the applicant is to be principally home-based, where it will remain important for the police to conduct a greater degree of checking based on the home address of the applicant.

CRB state that the changes will significantly reduce the public perception of unnecessary intrusion into citizens’ private lives, reduce waiting times, improve customer satisfaction and more importantly, they should not increase the risk to the vulnerable.

The Government have the terms of a thorough review of the VBS which will re-examine whether the scheme is the most appropriate mechanism to protect children and vulnerable people and, if so, how many roles should be covered by it.

The review of the criminal records regime, which will run in parallel to the VBS review, will look at the broader issues around the disclosure of criminal records. The review will also examine the balance between civil liberties and public protection in relation to the current use of the Criminal Records Bureau service, and ensure that the systems are proportionate and less burdensome. It will also consider the use of Police intelligence as part of CRB Checks. These review points will then inform the delivery of our service going forward.

Recommendations from both reviews are expected to be available early in the New Year. In the meantime the CRB have announced that they will continue with business as usual and there will be no immediate changes to the current disclosure service.

As part of the Government Spending Review, it will be possible for employers to share CRB checks, reducing the need for multiple checks. The Government aims to introduce legislation in the Freedom Bill once detailed proposals have been modelled, developed and tested.

Portability refers to the re-use of a CRB check, obtained for a position in one organisation and later used for another position in another organisation. Currently the CRB does not facilitate portability, organisations that choose to accept a previously issued CRB check do so at their own risk.

The CRB website has a list of  frequently asked questions about Portability.

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, has today (15th June 2010) issued a statement to the House of Commons which confirms the stated intention of the coalition Government to review the Vetting & Barring and criminal records regimes to ensure that they are scaled back to common sense levels.

The Written Ministerial Statement says:

We will maintain the current arrangements under which the Independent Safeguarding Authority is able to bar from “regulated activities” those considered unsuitable to work with children or vulnerable adults, and appropriate cases must be referred to them. Criminal records checks will also remain available for those eligible to receive them, and will continue to be required for certain posts where regulations are already in place.

What will the CRB/AccessNI be doing during the remodelling period?

During this process it will be business as usual for the CRB and AccessNI’s Disclosure service. Although the Scheme has been stopped, changes introduced in October 2009 are still in place. Organisations that are engaging individuals to work in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults should continue to use their existing safeguarding practices, including the use of enhanced CRB/AccessNI disclosures where these are required by law or regarded as appropriate by employers.

The Home Office has today pulished comprehensive VBS guidance which is broken down into sections providing background and scope of the scheme, barring arrangements and the effect on employees, volunteers and regulated activity providers.  It also provides useful examples that will help you to understand your duties under the new arrangements and helpful timescales and transition arrangements that you should be aware of.

Employers, local authorities, professional regulators and other bodies have a duty to refer to the ISA, information about individuals working with children or vulnerable adults where they consider them to have caused harm or pose a risk of harm.

The Independent Safeguarding Authority has issued guidance for use when considering or making a referral. The ISA will receive referrals when:
•    there is harm or risk of harm to children or vulnerable adults, relevant conduct has occurred or
•    an individual has received a caution or conviction for a relevant offence.

This guidance introduces some important new terms such as Regulated Activity and Relevant Conduct.