A history - Independent Safeguarding Authority

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act received Royal Assent in November 2006 and it lays the foundation for the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

The background to this Act is that it responded to a key recommendation from the Bichard Inquiry following the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by Ian Huntley in 2002. This recommendation being the need for a registration scheme which would prevent those who are deemed to be unsuitable from gaining access to children or vulnerable adults through their work.

The Independent Safeguarding Authority has been created to fulfill this role across England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Scotland is in the process of developing a similar system which will work closely with ISA).

Protection of Freedoms Act

The Protection of Freedoms Bill has completed its passage through Parliament and received Royal Assent. The Protection of Freedoms Act will see:-

• the scrapping of the Vetting and Barring Scheme
• the creation of a new Disclosure and Barring Service to oversee a scaled-back regime focused only on roles working most closely with vulnerable groups

However, Royal Assent does not mean that the changes to disclosure and barring commence immediately. It remains business as usual at CRU. Therefore the safeguarding regulations introduced in October 2009 continue to apply, including the following:

• a person who is barred by the Independent Safeguarding Authority from working with children or vulnerable adults will be breaking the law if they work or volunteer, or try to work or volunteer with those groups
• an organisation that knowingly employs a barred individual to work with children or vulnerable adults will also be breaking the law
• if your organisation works with children or vulnerable adults and you dismiss a member of staff or a volunteer because they have harmed a child or vulnerable adult, or you would have done so if they had not left, you must refer this information to the Independent Safeguarding Authority

We will keep you updated on how the Act will affect your organisation so look out for our updates on the website and Twitter.

ISA VBS CRU Brief Feb 2011

Protection of Freedoms Bill: Committee Stage Report

The Protection of Freedoms Bill: Committee Stage Report was released on 28 June. This report provides the full details of the significant amendments made to the Bill's provisions on the barring scheme operated by the Independent Safeguarding Authority(ISA). For more information Protection of Freedoms Bill Committee Stage Report

Protection of Freedoms Bill announcement

The government will today clarify plans for the process of vetting individuals who work with children and vulnerable adults when it unveils the Protection of Freedoms Bill.

WCVA CRU opposes any watering down of the current system of use of CRB checks as a tool to help with safeguarding both children and vulnerable adults.

WCVA CRU handles over 16,000 Disclosure certificates a year for both paid staff and volunteers and regularly sees information on the certificates which would cause concern over an individual’s suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults and of which the employer should be aware.

The issue is not about proportionality but about requests for ineligible checks and the misunderstanding of when a CRB check is mandatory and when it is done as best practice according to eligibility guidelines. We welcome the initiative to stop employers requesting ineligible checks.

We will provide further guidance as the measures in the Bill are clarified but if you have any queries please contact us. For more information Home Office.

 The ISA has four statutory duties:

• To maintain a list of individuals barred from engaging in regulated activity with children;
• To maintain a list of individuals barred from engaging in regulated activity with vulnerable adults;
• To make well-informed and considered decisions about whether an individual should be included on one or both barred lists; and
• To reach decisions as to whether to remove an individual from a barred list.

• Eligibility for an Enhanced Disclosure will expand to include all regulated activity;
• Criminal penalties will be imposed on those barred individuals who seek or undertake work with vulnerable groups and equally for those employers who knowingly take them on;
• New information sharing duties – there will be a statutory duty for Regulated Activity Providers to refer to ISA any information about an individual who may pose a risk, ensuring potential threats to vulnerable groups can be identified and dealt with.

ISA VBS remodelling and CRB checks review

CRU Information Sheet - ISA VBS

Independent Safeguarding Authority

Vetting and Barring Scheme Guidance

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act