Duties Under ISA

Referral Duties

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 sets a legal duty to refer information to the ISA in certain circumstances.

In January 2009 ISA assumed responsibility for making barring decisions for List 99, Protection of Children Act (POCA) list and the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) list. This meant that those organisations with a duty refer were required to refer to ISA instead of the Department of Health or the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

The address for referral is:
    Independent Safeguarding Authority
    PO Box 181
    Darlington
    DL1 9FA

The following organisations must refer to ISA:

• Adult/child protection teams in local authorities;
• Professional bodies and supervisory authorities named in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act;
• Employers and service providers of regulated and controlled activity; and
• Personnel suppliers (eg employment agencies, employment businesses and education institutions).

This means that any regulated activity provider must refer to ISA if they remove a person from regulated or controlled activity and they think that person has engaged in relevant conduct, the Harm test has been satisfied or they have received a caution or conviction for a relevant offence. It also means that that the regulated activity provider must refer to ISA if the person leaves their employ under circumstances where they may have referred.

A regulated activity provider is any person who is responsible for the management or control of regulated activity for an organisation and who engages another to perform that regulated activity.

For example, a local authority that employs people to work in social services, a person who manages volunteers in a regulated activity such as a scout leader or manager of an after school club.

There is also the possibility for parents and private employers to refer to a statutory agency (for example, social services or the police), who will investigate the matter and refer to ISA if appropriate. Members of the public may also refer information to ISA in this way.