Vetting and Barring Scheme
The official findings of the reviews of the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) and criminal records regime were announced on February 11th, unveiling a new scaled back vetting scheme and some fundamental changes to the existing checks procedure. Children’s Minister Tim Loughton said that “the new system will be less bureaucratic and less intimidating…and will empower organisations to ask the right questions”.
The VBS had originally been created following the Bichard Inquiry to help safeguard children and vulnerable adults. The concept of checking the suitability of people who wanted to work or volunteer was not new, but many felt that the VBS, while well intentioned, was a disproportionate response to the threat posed by a small minority of individuals.
The key recommendations of the review are as follows:
- The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) should be merged to create a single agency to provide both a barring and criminal records disclosure service.
- This new scheme should only cover those who have regular or close contact with vulnerable groups, although it will continue to apply to both paid and volunteer roles.
- There should be no requirement for people to register with the scheme and no ongoing monitoring.
- CRB checks should continue to be available, but should be revised to become portable through the introduction of a new system that will allow continuous updating of information.
There are currently no dates for the implementation of these changes, but the CRB and ISA websites will continue to be updated with new information as it becomes available. For more information relating to CRB checks you can visit www.crb.homeoffice.gov.uk or contact the CRB Customer Services Team on 0870 90 90 811. For more information relating to referrals and barring decisions, you can visit www.isa-gov.org.uk
To contact Sarah Hodgetts who represents the voluntary sector on the East Sussex VBS Implementation Group, please email sarah.hodgetts@3va.org.uk’
