The background to this Act is that it has responded to a key recommendation from the Bichard Enquiry for a registration scheme which prevents those who are deemed to be unsuitable from gaining access to children or vulnerable adults through their work. This will be achieved by helping to ensure that employers benefit from an improved vetting service for those who work with children and/or vulnerable adults; and that those who are known to be unsuitable are barred from working with children and/or vulnerable adults at the earliest possible opportunity.

This scheme is expected to go live on Monday 12 October 2009 and CRU will keep organisations fully informed of any developments as and when they occur.

The Independent Safeguarding Authority is the new name for the Vetting and Barring Scheme and the Independent Barring Board (which decides whether a person can be a member of the scheme).

Sir Roger Singleton who is the Chair of the Independent Safeguarding Authority explains the reason for this change of name :

“Independent emphasises the detachment of the new organisation from ministerial decision making and that the Independent Safeguarding Authority itself will take all barring decisions. Safeguarding reflects the positive effects of barring and states what the agency intends to achieve. Authority adds weight to the organisation's role, reflecting that it is a formal statutory body whose information requirements need to be responded to and whose decisions are significant. ”

The overriding aim of the Independent Safeguarding Authority will be to prevent those who are deemed unsuitable to work with children and/or vulnerable adults from gaining access to them through their work. It will do this by taking all discretionary decisions as to those individuals who should be placed on the new barred lists.

For more information about the scheme visit www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/socialcare/safeguarding/independentsafeguardingauthority/ or www.isa-gov.org.uk

ISA Consultation

The Government has published its formal reponse to the recent consultation on the ISA Scheme.

Please click on the link to read the document in full.

ISA Board Members Announced

The appointment of the Independent Safeguarding Authority's ten board members, who will oversee the delivery of a new vetting and barring process, was announced on 16 May 2008. Members of the board have been chosen for their wide-ranging expertise in work with vulnerable people and those who abuse them. ISA chairman Sir Roger Singleton said:

“I am delighted to announce that the Board of the Independent Safeguarding Authority is now in place. This is an important milestone towards improving the safety of the most vulnerable people in our society.

“I am looking forward to working alongside such a wealth of experience to ensure that those who are judged to pose a risk to children and vulnerable adults are barred from working with them.

Four voluntary sector leaders are among the 10 board members appointed. The four are: Moira Murray, child protection expert at the Children's Society; Donald Findlater, director of research and development at child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation; Debbie Ariyo, founder and executive director of Africans Unite against Child Abuse; and Dr John Belcher, chief executive of not-for-profit at older people's care housing and support provider the Anchor Trust.

The other board members are Dr Valerie Brasse, Adviser to the Cumberlege Comission, established by the Catholic Church in England and Wales to review the church's safeguarding arrangements for children and vulnerable adults; social care adviser to the Victoria Climbié child abuse inquiry; led child protection policy development and implementation, including implementing parts of the Children Act 1989; Richard Black OBE, who has had a career in social services; Tom Davies, Commissioner for the Independent Police Commission, with responsibility for Wales; Professor Don Grubin Professor of psychiatry at Newcastle University and consultant forensic psychiatrist in the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust; Mehmuda Mian Pritchard Commissioner at the Independent Police Complaints Commission; and Peter Withers Board member, Tayside Health Board and Risk Management Authority, executive vice chairman (resources) for the Civil Service Sports Council.

The ISA board will be starting work to define the criteria for barring individuals in preparation for when the full scheme goes live October 2009. ISA will provide employers with the most comprehensive vetting service on offer anywhere in the world and it is expected that under the ISA scheme approximately 11.3 million employees and volunteers will be registered once the scheme is fully implemented.

ISA go-live date

On 1 April 2008 the Home Office announced that from 12 October 2009 individuals will need to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) if they are to work or volunteer with children and/or vulnerable adults in a regulated activity.

The new 'go live' stage will be the official start date of the scheme, although preparatory work and advice and guidance will have been undertaken and completed by this stage. After this date all new workers or those changing jobs (in regulated activity) will be required to register with the ISA Scheme.

Home Office Minister Meg Hillier said: 'The Independent Safeguarding Authority is at the heart of the Government's drive to increase the protection of vulnerable members of our society. The mandatory scheme aims to prevent those who are deemed unsuitable to work with children and/or vulnerable adults from gaining access to them through their work'.

For the latest information concerning ISA please visit the ISA's website http://www.isa-gov.org/ where you can register to receive regular updates.

ISA Registration Cost

It has been announced that the overall cost for registering with ISA will be £64 per person. The fee will consist of two components: an ISA registration fee of £28 and a CRB enhanced disclosure, currently £36, which provides employers with details of information held on police records about potential staff members. However, there will be no cost for volunteers. It is important to note that a CRB enhanced disclosure will still cost £36.

The Independent Safeguaring Authority is running a number of information sessions where you will be able to find out more about the new scheme. During these sessions the changes that will come into force from Autumn 2008 will be explained including how the new vetting and barring scheme will operate, the new duties under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act and how the new duties will impact on employers and other organisations.

Session Dates

So far the following sessions have been scheduled :

April 24 2008 - Newcastle

May 8 2008 - Bristol

Attendance is free but registrations will only be accepted on a first come first served basis.

To register please follow the link http://www.isa-gov.org.uk

New Independent Safeguarding Authority website

www.isa-gov.org.uk

The overriding aim of the Independent Safeguarding Authority will be to prevent those who are deemed unsuitable to work with children and/or vulnerable adults from gaining access to them through their work. It will do this by taking all discretionary decisions as to those individuals who should be placed on the new barred lists.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 : Independent Safeguarding Authority Scheme Consultation

A fourteen week consultation begun on 14 November concerning the implementation of the Independent Safeguarding Authority scheme. Under the terms of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 the scheme will introduce the most stringent vetting and barring service yet. The scheme will protect both children and vulnerable adults by preventing those who are known to pose a risk of harm accessing these groups through their work. The consultation seeks views on a wide range of policy issues that will ensure the successful implementation of the Act. This consultation is jointly published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Home Office, and the Department of Health.

Please visit http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conDetails.cfm?consultationId=1516 to read the full document and respond to the consultation.

VBS Chair Appointed

The creation of the new Vetting and Barring Scheme has recently taken an important step with the appointment of Sir Roger Singleton as Chair of the new Independent Barring Board (IBB). He will oversee the development of the Scheme in preparation for its launch in 2008.

Sir Roger Singleton is currently advisor to the Government on child protection and brings a wealth of experience to the role of Chair having a strong background both in working with vulnerable people as well as developing strong child protection initiatives.

The Home Office has also appointed John O'Brien as Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the IBB and he will be combining this role with his current role of Programme Director.

The overriding aim of the new Vetting and Barring Scheme will be to help avoid harm or risk of harm, to children and vulnerable adults. It aims to do this by preventing those who are deemed unsuitable to work with children and vulnerable adults from gaining access to them through their work. This will be done by providing employers with a more effective and streamlined vetting service for potential employees; barring unsuitable individuals from working, or seeking to work, with children and vulnerable adults at the earliest opportunity; and taking responsibility for making barring decisions. The application processes for vetting and barring decisions will be run by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

These documents are available in pdf format on the Resources page.