Disclosure in detail

For the majority of jobs within the voluntary sector (paid employee or volunteer), a position involving working with children or vulnerable adults is eligible for a Disclosure.

A Disclosure is a process of gathering information about an applicant's possible criminal activity. This includes spent and unspent convictions, cautions and warnings given by the police. A Disclosure is the certificate containing this information.

A Disclosure should only be requested in specific circumstances, such as when a volunteer has regular contact with vulnerable individuals as a direct result of their position within the organisation.

There are 2 levels of Disclosure:-

Standard - no longer availabe for posts involving working with children or vulnerable adults. Is still available for certain security and gaming posts.

Enhanced - available for positions involving regularly caring for, supervising, training or being in sole charge of children or vulnerable adults. It's scope has been broadened to take regulated activity into account. It will provide details of spent and unspent convictions, cautions and warnings. In addition, it may contain information from local police forces with may be relevant to the position.

Eligibility

Regulated activity is defined in Schedule 4 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act  and has four distinct sections.

Generally, an individual is involved in regulated activity if the activity is:

  • teaching, training, instruction, care, superivison or providing advice and guidance or driving a vehicle used specifically for transporting children or vulnerable adults. The activity must happen frequently once a week or more or intensively four or more days in a single month or overnight
  • providing any form of healthcare or treatment. The activity must happen frequently once a month or more or intensively four or more days in a single month or overnight.
  • in a specified place such as childcare premises, a children's residential home, a school, a children's hospital, a children's centre, an adult care home or an FE institution wholly or mainly for under 18's. The activity must happen frequently once a week or more in the same setting or four or more days in a single month or overnight.

Example: A sports coach providing swimming lessons to children once a week. This individual would be teaching or training on a frequent/intensive basis and therefore is undertaking regulated activity.

Example: A school receptionist who although does not teach, train, supervise or care for children in the school does work in a specified place and therefore has opportunity for contact with children. This is regulated activity.

Example: A counselor working at a drugs and alcohol advisory service who comes into weekly contact counseling adults who have alcohol or drug dependency. This is a regulated activity.

Cost

The CRB levies a charge of £44 for an Enhanced Disclosure for paid employees. Volunteers are free of charge.

WCVA CRU does not make any administration charges for voluntary organisations based in Wales.

If you would like further information on Disclosure please visit Criminal Records Bureau

Applicant Guide

The CRB have released new guidance to help applicants complete the application form. It explains the steps that must be taken to ensure that the application form is completed correctly, which should minimise errors and prevent forms being returned by CRU. The new guidance is available on the Directgov website and provides general rules for applicants, how to record information such as current and previous names and address history and ensuring the form is completed correctly. This should help minimise forms being sent through to CRU with errors on thus preventing delays in such forms being dealt with.

For more information Applicant Guide

CRB eligible positions guidance

Before requesting a CRB check please check the CRB eligible positions guidance. If an individual still has concerns about your organisation's entitlement to request details about their spent conviction history you could either:

- provide them with an explanation and quote the legislation that supports your request;
- or you could tell them to contact organisations such as NACRO, Unlock, the Apex Trust or the Citizens Advice Bureau.

If after guidance has been sought, the applicant is still concerned they should raise the issue with the Ministry of Justice.
 
Please remember that we are also here to help.

Disputes

Should your applicant wish to raise a dispute concerning the content of the information released on the Disclosure Certificate where they believe that the information does not relate to them or that elements of the information are incorrect or irrelevant please guide them to Disputes. This webpage contains information on the two types of dispute - data entry and data source disputes - and how to raise the dispute for each.

 

CRB Code of Practice

CRB Definitions

Members Area - available now - please contact us for your login details. New disclosure application form advice pack available here.

e-Bulk
New electronic applications mean faster CRB checks. Read more

what are we
We are a CRB Umbrella Body countersigning disclosure applications. Read more.

how we help
Free access service to the voluntary sector and CSSIW under 8 provisions. Provide advice and guidance. Read more.

private organisation looking for an Umbrella Body?
Contact us for information on how we can help.

Criminal Records Unit, WCVA, Morfa Hall, Bath Street, Rhyl, LL18 3EB
T: 0800 0197 391 F: 01745 357 593 E: cru@wcva.org.uk