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18/02/2011

Review of Criminal Records Bureau Checks and the Vetting and Barring Scheme.

The government commissioned reviews in June 2010 into the ways in which the suitability of staff and volunteers to work with children and vulnerable adults is assessed in relation to their criminal record. The government stated that the system of vetting needed to be scaled back to "common sense levels" and has now announced its proposals for a remodelling of the CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) disclosure system and the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) following the findings of two relevant reviews.

The proposals would be introduced as part of the Protection of Freedoms Bill which the government intends will be made law early in 2012, with the new vetting system coming into effect during 2013.

What are the proposed changes?

• The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) and the CRB will be merged to provide one barring and criminal records service.
• Staff and volunteers working with children and vulnerable adults will no longer be required to register with the ISA.
• The requirement to check the criminal records staff and volunteers will be narrowed to focus on only those who are working unsupervised or regularly in close contact with children and vulnerable adults.
• CRB disclosures will become "portable" to prevent individuals applying for multiple checks for different voluntary or paid roles.
• Employers and those engaging volunteers will be able pay an annual fee to be able to check whether there have been any updates to an individual's criminal record since their last check.
• There will be greater promotion of safeguarding issues by the government, including the need for employers and voluntary organisations to play their part in operating proper safeguarding procedures.
• There will be stronger enforcement of the rules which prevent employers making unnecessary checks on employees

What will stay the same?

• If you dispense with a member of staff or stop using a volunteer because of a concern you have about their behaviour related to safeguarding, you still have a legal duty to report the matter to the ISA. You should contact your national governing body if you are in this situation so that they can help make sure you meet your legal obligations. (This also applies if you would have asked the staff member or volunteer to leave but they left of their own choice first.)
• The ISA will continue to make decisions about who should be barred from working with children and maintain the lists of individuals who are barred.
• Some individuals will still be barred from working with children and/or vulnerable adults where there is just cause and concern about their suitability (e.g. where they have been convicted of certain offences)
• It will still be an offence to knowingly take on a member of staff or volunteer to work with children or vulnerable adults where that person is barred from doing so.
• It will still be an offence for a person to engage in work, either voluntary or paid, where they are barred from doing so.

What checks should golf clubs make on staff and volunteers now?

Checking someone's criminal record is only one aspect of good recruitment practice- it doesn't necessarily tell you whether there have been concerns about the person before that have not resulted in a Police caution or a conviction. For example, Vanessa George had a clear CRB check. Clubs should therefore not solely rely on CRB checks, but also take up references and make other background checks on staff and volunteers.

Clubs should continue to obtain CRB disclosures for staff and volunteers who work with children and/or vulnerable adults as a regular part of their duties.

Advice on good practice in checking the suitability of individuals to work with children can be found at www.childreningolf.org and within the Guidelines for Safeguarding Children in Golf.

Summary

CRB disclosures should still be sought for relevant volunteers and staff. The changes will not take effect for some months yet, and even when they do, clubs, counties and others employing staff and taking on volunteers to work with children and vulnerable adults will still need to satisfy themselves that these individuals are suitable to do so, in order that the club's common law duty of care to safeguard children using its services is met.

The government has emphasised that employers and voluntary organisations have an important role to play in safeguarding children, and any changes in the vetting system do not detract from this message.

Children in Golf and the organisations which form CiG are monitoring the situation carefully and will make sure that updates are provided about the changes as they become clearer, through www.childreningolf.org and the organisations' own websites. Changes will take time for the government to implement and this will allow time for information to be provided to clubs, counties, coaches and volunteers in golf by their governing bodies.

 

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