From 12th October 2009, certain employers may face
fines of up to £5,000 if they fail to refer an employee who harms
or poses a risk of harm to children or vulnerable adults, under the
new Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS).
The VBS is being delivered by the Criminal
Records Bureau (CRB) (Access Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland)
and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). Its tighter
regulations are at the heart of the Government’s strategy for
increasing the protection of vulnerable members of our society.
The Scheme is one of the Government’s key
responses to the Bichard Inquiry which followed the murders of
Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman by Ian Huntley. The events in Soham
focused public attention on the way people who work with children
are vetted. The resulting inquiry recommended a new scheme that
would ensure that everyone working in regulated activity with
children or vulnerable adults is checked and registered.
After full consultation, the Bichard Inquiry
led to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (SVGA) and the
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007
(SVGO), which provide for the establishment of the Scheme. The
Scheme has been developed by the UK Government in conjunction with
the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland
Executive.
The Scheme is not simply a robust reaction to
the single tragic event in Soham. Already the ISA receives around
400-500 referrals per month from employers who have concerns that
individuals who are or were in their employment could pose a risk
to vulnerable groups. The Scheme offers a common sense,
proportionate approach to safeguarding and it is what we believe
the public would rightly expect.
Changes from 12 October
2009
Stricter controls now replace existing
arrangements that determine who is unsuitable to work with children
and vulnerable adults in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Increased safeguards based on a new system featuring ‘regulated
activity’ come into being to further enhance protection of children
and vulnerable adults. It is now a criminal offence for barred
individuals to work or apply to work with children or vulnerable
adults in a wide range of posts. Employers also face criminal
sanctions for knowingly employing a barred individual across a wide
range of work.
- The additional jobs and voluntary positions that are now
covered by the barring arrangements include most NHS jobs, Prison
Service, education, childcare and moderators of internet chat rooms
wholly or mainly for children.
· Barred
individuals seeking to undertake work with vulnerable groups may
face a prison sentence or a fine. Employers in regulated activity
who knowingly employ barred individuals may face a prison sentence
or a fine.
· The
three former barred lists (POVA, POCA and List 99) are being
replaced by two new barred lists, one for people prevented from
working with children and one for those prevented from working with
vulnerable adults, administered by the ISA rather than several
Government departments. From now on checks of these two lists can
be made as part of an Enhanced CRB check.
·
Employers are now eligible to ask for enhanced disclosures with
barred list checks on anyone they are taking on in regulated
activity. In Northern Ireland this eligibility also extends to
controlled activity. However employers are not required to ask for
an enhanced disclosure if they have no reason to believe that an
existing employee is barred, unless there is a mandatory
requirement to do so (e.g. Ofsted registered childcare).
· In
certain circumstances, employers, local authorities, education and
library boards, health and social care bodies and professional
regulators have a legal duty to refer to the ISA, information about
individuals who they believe have harmed or may pose a risk of harm
to children or vulnerable adults.
The VBS has introduced genuine improvements to the safeguarding
process together with duties to refer. People who pose a risk to
children or vulnerable adults will now be taken out of the
workplace.
Supporting materials available include:
Referral forms and
Referral guidance
and VBS Guidance
which covers the increased safeguards introduced from the
12th October 2009.
New employees and those changing jobs in regulated
activity do not need to start applying for ISA-registration until
July 2010 and ISA-registration does not become
mandatory for these workers until November 2010. All other staff
will be phased into the scheme from 2011. Further
information on how to apply for registration will be provided in
due course
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