The Vetting and Barring Scheme  (May 2010)

If you scroll down the page you will find information and links to further information (April 2010) from a variety of websites and publications regarding the Vetting and Barring Scheme.  It can be daunting to be presented with such a large amount of information but it is vital that you have access to as much information as possible about the changes.

That said, the Independent Safeguarding Authority now have a page on their website which contains practical information for individuals and organisations who need or wish to register with the Vetting and Barring Scheme, whether as potential employees/volunteers or as employers/service providers.

This page gives a clear précis about:

• Your legal responsibilities
  Explains the duties and responsibilities of employees (including volunteers) and employers (including volunteer organisations).
• Employers and volunteer organisations
  More detailed information on what you need to do to ensure your employees or volunteers are ISA registered.
• Employees and volunteers
  More detailed information on how to register and what ISA registration means for employees and volunteers.
• What happens next? (By date)
  Know when you need to act as the new vetting service is phased in.

Visit the page and follow the links to find out more at www.isa.homeoffice.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=2

Vetting and Barring - The rules have changed and you have a vital part to play (April 2010)

On 12 October 2009, new measures were introduced to help prevent unsuitable people undertaking paid or volunteer work with children or vulnerable adults.

It’s called the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has been set up to help implement the Scheme and make decisions about who should be barred from working with vulnerable people. Those decisions are legally binding too. Failing to comply could result in both the employer and the employee or volunteer being prosecuted, or even going to prison.

From July 2010 all new employees, those moving jobs and volunteers who want to work with children or vulnerable adults can register with the ISA. From November 2010, they must be ISA-registered. From then on it will be illegal to employ new people who are not ISA-registered.

Spread the word

To assist you in informing the people or organisations you help, the Home Office have created an online toolkit containing a selection of downloadable material, from posters to inserts and an email.

There are four variations of posters and inserts. Because this new law is so far reaching, the wording has been tweaked to communicate the message to different groups in the most appropriate way. Please select the material you feel is most suited to your audience. You should find all the tools you need at www.isa.homeoffice.gov.uk/toolkit/ , but if you need more information about the ISA, VBS, the ISA-registration process, who is affected and how, please visit businesslink.gov.uk/vbs or call 0300 123 1111*.

*Calls to 03 numbers should cost no more than geographic 01 or 02 calls, and may be part of inclusive minutes subject to your call provider and your call package.

Information on this subject is also available from Direct Gov

The Vetting and Barring scheme (www.direct.gov.uk/en/campaigns/Vetting/index.htm ) will help stop people who are a risk to children and vulnerable adults from working with them. The Home Office has published full guidance to help your organisation implement the new scheme including who is covered, how the process works and the implementation timetable.  Find out more about the scheme and read the guidance

NAVCA STATES

New guidance is now available from http://bit.ly/isavbuid (The ISA). This covers a number of points on which NAVCA has been seeking written clarification, including:

• Charity trustees (requirement to register)
• Incidental presence of children
• Peer exemption

There are several issues in particular that you may need to be aware of:

• Frequency and intensivity tests: frequent is once a week or more intensive is four days or more in a single month but in health and personal care services frequent is once a week.
• Exemptions from the requirement to register until 2013
• There will be a new CRB form.

Although not mentioned in the guidance, NAVCA has received assurance from the Office of the Third Sector that Volunteer Centres are not personnel suppliers. Therefore the requirement to check rests with the host organisation and not with the VC.

Consultations

There are two new consultations on VBS-related issues:

• Public consultation on the continuing need for a controlled activity category in the Vetting and Barring Scheme
• Consultation on statutory requirements and advice, for CRB disclosures for safeguarding purposes, on workers already registered with the Independent Safeguarding Authority

These can be accessed from: www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations The proposal in the second consultation could mean less requirement for conducting CRB checks