New Childcare Regulations in the UK

The situation on March 18th 2011

The Government has announced the outcome of its review of the Vetting and Barring Scheme and said that it intends to include reforms in a forthcoming Freedoms Bill. Chris Peel has produced the following update on the situation.

No change yet

Since the last update we have had several brothers and sisters either enquiring about or assuming there are immediate changes to the Criminal Records Bureau disclosure process. Rest assured there are none at this stage. The Government haven’t said when a new system will be brought in but as new legislation will be required for some of what they hope to do it is unlikely to be before the end of 2011.

Someone else thought that there were plans to charge volunteers for disclosures but this is not in any proposal that has come from the government. Given their remarks about the imposition of the Vetting and Barring Scheme I would think it is not a likely move, despite the economic climate.

Portability

Unrelated to announcements about changing the scheme, in January the CRB modified the advice it gives about using disclosures already held by workers and volunteers for new roles. They still advise against doing so because:

• there could be confusion over the level of check (Standard or Enhanced – ours are always the latter)
• the older the disclosure the less reliable they become as new information may have come to light
• if undertaken before June last year they will not include the new ISA Children Barred list
• you are relying on the previous employer having correctly substantiated the applicant’s identity and processed their form, which may not be the case

Having said that the CRB issue advice about safeguards that should be in place if organisations do want to use a previous disclosure.
The full information can be read here, but essentially the following should be done:

• Ask the individual to show you their original copy of the CRB check.
• Contact the Countersignatory named on the front of the CRB check and confirm that the reference number and identity details match.
• Ask if the Countersignatory received any additional information - the Countersignatory can only confirm or otherwise the existence of such information – but not the content of the information.
• If there is no additional information, carry out a formal risk assessment to decide whether to accept the CRB check.
• If there was additional information, you are strongly advised to ask the individual to apply for a fresh check.

As Countersignatories for disclosures made through the CSSU we would be happy to provide the information as long as the brother or sister concerned gives written consent.

Review of the Vetting and Barring Scheme

So far the Review has come up with what it would like to see happen but not how. It produced the following recommendations:

• A state body should continue to provide a barring function to help employers protect those at risk from people who seek to do them harm via work or volunteering roles.
• The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) should be merged into a single Body
• The new barring regime should cover only those who may have regular or close contact with vulnerable groups.
• Barring should continue to apply to both paid and unpaid roles.
• Automatic barring should apply for those serious offences which provide a clear and direct indication of risk.
• Registration should be scrapped and there should be no ongoing monitoring.
• Criminal records disclosures should continue to be available to employers and voluntary bodies but should be revised to become portable.
• The Government will seek amendment to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 to redefine the scope of the scheme but what will be regarded as a ‘regulated activity’ has yet to be finalised. They expect primary legislation to be in place by early 2012 and will begin introducing changes as soon as practicable after that. It could take many months to fully roll out.

Review of the Criminal Records Bureau

The parallel review into the CRB has also produced its first report; its main recommends are:

• that eligibility for criminal records checks is scaled back.
• that criminal records checks should be portable (transferable)
• that the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) introduce an online system to allow employers to check if updated information is held on an applicant
• that a new CRB procedure is developed so that the criminal records certificate is only issued directly to the individual applicant
• that the Government introduces a filter to remove old and minor conviction information from criminal records checks
• that where employers knowingly make unlawful criminal records check applications the penalties and sanctions are rigorously enforced

Changes that have already come into effect

Please note those elements of the Vetting and Barring Scheme already brought in remain in force:

• The legal duty for employers to refer information to the ISA where they considered an individual had caused harm or posed an ongoing risk to vulnerable groups.
• The criminal penalties for barred individuals who seek or undertake work with vulnerable groups and for employers who knowingly take them.

CRB Website Guidance sent out by the CSSU for CRB applications includes references to where information can be obtained from the Bureau's website. From 31 March the address is changing to the www.direct.gov.uk site. As yet actual links are not known so our guidance cannot yet be updated but it is as well to know that current leaflets etc. will not be correct within a few weeks.

Further information is available on the ISA web site