Recommendations Announced

14 February 2011

Vetting & Barring Scheme and Criminal Records Regime Review - Recommendations Announced.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has unveiled a new scaled back employment vetting scheme and fundamental reform of criminal records checks.

Announcing the findings of the parallel reviews of the Vetting & Barring Scheme and the criminal records regime on Friday 11 February Mr Clegg revealed that millions of people will be removed from the need to carry out compulsory pre-employment checks.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:

"The Freedoms Bill will protect millions of people from state intrusion in their private lives and mark a return to common sense government. It delivers on our commitment to restore hard-won British liberties with sweeping reforms that will end the unnecessary scrutiny of law-abiding individuals.

"We inherited a messy criminal records regime that developed piecemeal and defied common sense. Our reviews concluded that the systems were not proportionate and needed to be less bureaucratic. They will now be scaled back to sensible levels whilst at the same time protecting vulnerable people."

Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone said:

"I came into this department and was immediately struck by the need to look again at the vetting and barring scheme and criminal records regime.

"I feel the changes that are now being made strike the balance between our own personal liberties whilst ensuring vulnerable people are protected."

Children's Minister Tim Loughton said:

"Protecting children and keeping them safe remains our top priority, but it's also important that well meaning adults are not put off working or volunteering with children.

"The new system will be less bureaucratic and less intimidating. It will empower organisations to ask the right questions and make all the appropriate pre-employment checks, and encourage everyone to be vigilant.

"This is a common sense and proportionate approach which will ensure that children are properly protected without driving a wedge between them and adults."

Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said:

"Our plans will create a thorough system of checks that won't over-burden people with bureaucracy. Vulnerable people and their families will be able to have confidence in the new safeguards, while the doctors, nurses, social care workers and many others who need to be checked will have a more user-friendly system.

"I look forward to working with other departments in putting the plans into action. Together we will create a better way of safeguarding some of society's most vulnerable people." more.........>

 

Independent Safeguarding Authority
Vetting and Barring Scheme Guidence

The following information has been sent out recently and is reproduced here for your information (webmaster).

Dear colleague,

The communications team at the Vetting and Barring Scheme are pleased to announce that full guidance about the Scheme is available for free download now. (pdf opens in a new window)

This document contains details on:

• The scope of the Scheme;
• Barring arrangements;
• Responsibilities and duties for both employers and volunteer organisers, and the duties for those individuals you take on;
• Timescales for the phased implementation of the Scheme;
• Explanation of transitional arrangements around Scheme introduction.

In response to the overwhelming interest in the subject, the guidance makes special mention of those areas where the Scheme does not apply and discusses the points raised by Sir Roger Singleton when he reported into the boundaries of the Scheme in December 2009.

This full guidance release will be followed by a suite of 'sector specific' guidance documents, which will show how the Scheme will be applied in different areas of work and volunteering activities and will be published by our partners from the appropriate government departments.

We will make printed copies of this full guidance document available on request from our contact centre on 0300 123 1111. We expect these to be available from 5 April 2010.