This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Plans to enhance protection for vulnerable groups
08/02/2006
Tough new plans to enhance protection for children and adults at risk, and introduce a comprehensive vetting system, were unveiled today.
The proposals - issued for consultation - take forward key recommendations of the Bichard report following the Soham tragedy and are designed to prevent unsuitable people gaining paid or voluntary work with children and adults at risk.
Key measures include:
- Introducing a list of those unsuitable to work with adults at risk, to run alongside an extended Disqualified from Working with Children List.
- Continuous updating of the barred lists and notifying an employer if new information comes to light.
- Introducing a Vetting and Barring disclosure check to centralise and streamline the existing process.
- Establishing a Central Barring Unit to assess whether someone should be placed on one, or both, of the lists.
- Allowing parents and personal employers - as well as organisations - to use the Vetting and Barring disclosure system, for example to enable them to check whether a private tutor or personal carer is on a barred list.
Meanwhile, as an interim measure, to further improve the existing disclosure system ahead of these legislative changes, from April the Executive is to:
- Widen employers' access to enhanced disclosure checks to cover all posts that involve working with children and adults at risk, in line with Bichard recommendation 21.
- Provide more robust measures to help verify the identify of applicants, including giving Disclosure Scotland access to a wider range of information, such as that held by the UK Passport Agency and DVLA
The new system will ensure a consistent and comprehensive package of measures to aid safer recruitment across vulnerable groups. These will be complementary to a range of legislative proposals contained within the Protection of Adults (Scotland) Bill, which Health Ministers will introduce next month, to improve the care and protection of adults at risk.
Education Minister Peter Peacock said:
"Few things are as important as protecting those who cannot help themselves. That's why we're committed to doing all we can to improve child protection in Scotland.
"The comprehensive plans unveiled today will further strengthen our already stringent child protection measures, closing loopholes - by, for instance, allowing parents to find out if private tutors are barred - and putting in place additional safeguards.
"No-one can ever offer a 100 per cent guarantee of safety, but these measures make it increasingly less likely that someone unsuitable to work with children or adults at risk can slip through the net."
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said:
"Disclosure checks already play an important part in preventing unsuitable people from obtaining positions of trust, and ensuring that those who may pose a risk to children or adults at risk cannot obtain work with them in a paid or voluntary post.
"That's why we are announcing today further improvements to the existing disclosure system which will start to come into effect from April - part of an ongoing process to implement the Bichard recommendations - as well as further proposed legislative changes.
"We are determined to do everything we can, and as quickly as we can, to strengthen the vetting system and ensure we have a rigorous system, which works across borders and provides our children and adults at risk with the protection they deserve."
Other changes to the disclosure system which will be introduced include:
- Introduction of a more streamlined, colour-coded application form to reduce avoidable errors in submitting applications
- Inclusion of two new questions on the form, one to enable volunteers to obtain a free check more easily, and the other to ensure that the Disqualified from Working with Children List is checked for all eligible posts.
- An increase is the disclosure fee from £13.60 to £20, in line with the intention of the Police Act 1997 to recover the cost of the service from users.
The Vetting and Barring consultation paper is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/publications. The consultation closes on May 2, 2006.
Part V of the Police Act 1997 enabled Scottish Ministers to carry out criminal record checks. To deliver this service, Ministers signed a PPP agreement with BT plc in April 2002 which runs until April 2014. This partnership, which operates under the name Disclosure Scotland, currently provides three levels of criminal record check - basic, standard and enhanced. Spent and unspent convictions are disclosed during enhanced checks, as may any
To address recommendation 21, all posts that involve working with children and adults at risk will be subject to the enhanced disclosure regime, removing the current test of 'regularly caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge'.
In line with Bichard recommendation 23, today's changes would enable Disclosure Scotland to access data held by the UK Passport Agency, DVLA, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland and Department of Work and Pensions NI numbers to verify an applicant's identity.
The fee increase is based on projected application volumes to Disclosure Scotland and associated costs to deal with these. The fee will be reviewed in April 2008 and then after a further three years. The Executive will continue to meet the costs for volunteers working in voluntary organisations with children and adults at risk.
Changes to the disclosure application form mean volunteers no longer need to access their free check via Central Registered Body Scotland (CRBS). This means that CRBS will be able to focus on the provision of guidance, advice and support to the voluntary sector. CRBS will however retain its countersigning function to ensure that smaller, more informal, voluntary organisations, which rely on volunteers most, can access the support that they need to navigate and utilise the disclosure process.
Following consultation in 2005, Health Ministers intend to introduce a Bill in March to improve the care and protection of adults at risk. Measures will include powers to investigate cases of suspected abuse, and in exceptional circumstances to exclude the perpetrator of abuse from the home. The Bill will establish multi-agency adult protection committees to improve collaborative working locally, monitor activity, and identify and develop training needs.