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News Archive
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 : Controlled Activities Wales Consultation The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (NI) Order 2007 are major elements of a wide-ranging and ambitious programme of work established across government to address the systemic failures identified by the Bichard Inquiry. The legislation was enacted in response to recommendation 19 of the Bichard Inquiry Report which states 'New arrangements should be introduced requiring those who wish to work with children or vulnerable adults, to be registered. The register would confirm that there is no known reason why an individual should not work with these clients'. Please visit http://new.wales.gov.uk/consultations/currentconsultation/childrenyoungpeople/safe/?lang=en to read the full document and respond to the consultation. 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. Office Closure To help you plan your applications and enquiries to CRU, we list below full details of our opening times over Christmas and New Year. Monday 24 December - Tuesday 1 January CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS PERIODCRU would like to inform service users that strike action by Royal Mail, planned for the 5, 8 and 9 of October will have some impact on the Disclosure service. The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has announced further strike action. Two 48-hour strikes are planned. The first will begin at lunchtime on Thursday 4 October and ends at lunchtime on Saturday 6 October. The second will begin in the early hours of Monday 8 October, ending in the early hours of Wednesday 10 October. This will be followed by an unspecified programme of weekly strikes commencing on 15 October until this dispute has been resolved. Reduced deliveries will delay applications arriving at CRU and the completed Disclosure Certificates reaching employers and applicants. Please bear this in mind when planning any recruitment. Please be assured that once applications are received, we will process them as quickly as possible. New research shows numbers of older people abused at home Elder abuse and neglect (mistreatment) are increasingly acknowledged as a social problem in the UK and internationally, but there has been an absence of any sound data on the extent of this in the UK. However, new research, revealing the true extent of abuse suffered by older people in the UK, has been released by Comic Relief, Chief Executive, Kevin Cahill and Health Minster, Ivan Lewis. The UK Study of Abuse and Neglect, carried out over two years by independent researchers at National Centre for Social Research and Kings College, London, was based on a survey of around 2000 people aged 66 and over who live in their own homes (including sheltered housing). The findings of the study show that: - 2.6% or 227,000 people were neglected or abused by family, close friends and care workers in the last year. - 4% or 342,400 people were neglected or abused in the last year by family, close friends and care workers, neighbours and acquaintances - mistreatment is broken down into neglect (1.1%), financial abuse (0.7%), psychological and physical abuse (both 0.4%) and sexual abuse (0.2%). - the majority of the incidents involved a partner (51%) or another family member (49%) followed by a voluntary or paid care worker (13%) and close friend (5%). These statistics show that a small but significant proportion of abuse is carried out by volunteers or paid care workers and this highlights the importance of carrying out CRB checks as part of assessing suitability where eligible. This report is a considerable step forward in tackling adult abuse as an equally serious and social problem to that of child abuse. Kevin Cahill, CEO, Comic Relief said: “Comic Relief feels passionately that growing older with dignity, free from abuse is something we should all expect rather than aspire to. “Through this robust research we now know without question that thousands of older people are being abused or neglected. It is important that this new data is used to highlight the problem, help guide the development of future policy and ensure help is available to those who need it. People are living longer and the numbers of older people are set to rise in the future. This problem is not going to go away unless as a society we take action to reduce it.” Care Services Minister, Ivan Lewis said: "Older people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect - abuse in any setting is just unacceptable. "I want people to be as outraged by the abuse of an older person as they are by the abuse of a child. Sadly, we are nowhere near that yet as a society but that culture has to change. “This research shows us the nature of the problems that we will all face in the future. “That's why today I'm announcing two measures for the first time, national and local records on the abuse of older people will be systematically collected so that each individual council can monitor abuse locally and act on it. '”It is essential to put in place the mechanisms for collecting accurate and impartial data that will allow help to be targeted where it is most needed. "Knowing the size of the challenge nationally is one thing but each individual council ought equally to know what's going on locally. A systematic data collection will identify this and allow comparisons between councils. "No Secrets is the existing guidance on safeguarding vulnerable adults, launched in 2000. (“In Safe Hands” 2000 is the comparable Welsh Guidance). The aim of 'No Secrets' is to ensure that health, social services and the police, are able to work together to protect vulnerable adults from abuse. "Seven years on, and in the light of several serious incidences of adult abuse, it is timely to review this guidance and to consult with other government departments that have an interest in this field. New guidance is necessary to reflect the evidence in today's report and respond to the new demographic realities which are affecting our society. We will also consider the case for legislation as part of the review process.” To read this report in full please visit www.comicrelief.com/elderabuse Borders and Immigration Agency Under Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 all employers in the United Kingdom are required to make basic document checks to help prevent anyone from working illegally. By carrying out checks employers will be able to establish a defence for themselves if any of their employees are found to be working illegally at a later date. There are currently 2 services available :- An on-line interactive guide (www.employingmigrantworkers.org.uk) This guide will take you through the decision making process to see if the migrant worker can prove they have the right to work in the UK. An Employer Helpline 0845 010 6677 The Helpline can provide general advice and guidance about employing migrant workers and the types of documents that you should ask for. The Helpline also offers an Employer Checking service which allows you to check if the migrant worker has an outstanding application or appeal with the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) and as a result cannot provide you with the documents you require. The service can also validate Application Registration Cards (ARC). Over the next few months BIA will be running a number of pilots to trial a new range of checks to be offered by the Employer Checking Service. The pilots are being run in partnership with the Identity & Passport Service (IPS). The first pilot is already underway to validate UK passports with a view to incorporating identity checking as part of the service. In September the pilot will be extended to make checks on a wider range of Indefinite Leave to Remain applications and student applications. Further Border and Immigration Agency categories will also be added in November. If you would be interested in taking part in these pilots to help develop the service, please email employerchecking@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk Further details on the Employer Checking Service can be found on the Border and Immigration Agency website: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/lawandpolicy/preventingillegalworking/yourdefence Who benefits from volunteering? Calls are being made to the CRB to clear up confusion about who is and who isn't entitled to free disclosure checks under the heading of volunteers. The controversy has arisen because the CRB's Disclosure News reported that people will not satisfy the CRB's definition of a volunteer if they receive payments in excess of expenses they actually incur, or benefit directly themselves. This has lead some groups to interpret the 'direct benefits' ruling as meaning that volunteers who receive 'thank you' certificates, or are part of an accredited programme such as Millennium Volunteers or Duke of Edinburgh Award, will have to pay for their Disclosure checks. The CRB has ruled out making changes to its definition of a volunteer, claiming that the regulations remain the same. All they are trying to do, they say, is to ensure that no-one abuses the system for free checks for legitimate volunteers. Independent Safeguarding Authority 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/ Consultation on Automatic Barring A twelve week consultation begun in June concerning the process for barring people who are unsuitable to work with children and vulnerable adults, under the new arrangements to exclude unsuitable people from the workforce. It will run until 14 September 2007. The main points on which the consultation seeks views are;
Please visit http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conDetails.cfm?consultationId=1476 to read the full document and respond to the consultation. NSPCC Don't Hide It Campaign The main audience for this campaign is 11 to 16 year olds and it seeks to empower them to speak out about all forms of child abuse, neglect and also bullying. The campaign is preventative in that it will encourage all young people to understand what child abuse is and how they can help ensure that they are safe. The campaign will promote the ChildLine service. The campaign will, of course, also be relevant to adults, including parents and carers and to a range of professionals, both specialist and not specialist. The Don't Hide It campaign will comprise :-television and radio advertising aimed at young people; advertorials placed in magazines read by young people; media and PR activity to promote the campaign; information on the campaign placed on partnering websites that are popular with young people; a special microsite called donthideit.com which young people can access and; the mass distribution of a new information product called In the know, through schools to 8 to 11 year olds. In the know is written in a lively, colourful magazine style and has been developed following consultation with children and professionals who work with them. For more information please use the following links www.nspcc.org.uk or www.donthideit.com . CRB The Movie The Criminal Records Bureau launches a virtual guide to the Disclosure process. This guide is designed to shed light on the Disclosure process, and is useful for those who are interested in how a CRB check is carried out - from completion of the form to the final recruitment or licensing decision. The guide explains and clarifies each stage of the application process and identifies what can be done to ensure a speedy service. The guide is aimed at those who need to apply for a CRB check - providing a simple, clear and concise explanation of the application process. The guide is available for viewing online, in English and Welsh at www.crb.gov.uk/movie Charity Commission Consultation Response On 14 February the Charity Commission launched a consultation on its approach to Criminal Records (CRB) checks for trustees of charities working with children or vulnerable adults. This response to the consultation on CRB checks of trustees of charities is given by WCVA Criminal Records Unit (CRU) as a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Umbrella Registered Body (URB) providing access to the CRB Disclosure service for the voluntary sector within Wales.Please download this document at the bottom of this page. If you are registered to use WCVA CRU please feel free to use the members forum of this website to discuss this issue. 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). This scheme is expected to go live on Monday 29 September 2008 and CRU will keep organisations fully informed of any developments as and when they occur. CRB Innovation Award The Criminal Records Bureau has received a Government Computing Award for Innovation 2007. These Awards have been running since 1996 and recognise the best and most innovative work in the development and delivery of information age services to citizens, businesses or the public sector. This award recognises the importance of the CRB's i-PLX database as a significant milestone in the sharing of information across the criminal justice system. It represents the first step towards a national database of police force information and a significant advancement in the protection of the vulnerable. The i-PLX or interim police local cross referencing database increases access to local police force information and highlights if any force, not just those where a person has lived, holds relevant information about an applicant. This has reduced the CRB's reliance on applicants providing their full address history, providing a fuller picture of information across the country and offering greater protection to the most vulnerable. Over 25 separate projects were short-listed into this years' Government Computing Awards for Innovation. Entries came from all parts of the public sector - central and local government, healthcare, education, criminal justice and the military - reflecting the appeal of the most prestigious awards in the arena. REMINDER - WCVA CRU MOVED TO RHYL 16 APRIL 2007 CRU new number with immediate effect 0800 0197391 This number replaces ALL other numbers that you are currently using to contact CRU. CRU new address from 16 April 2007 WCVA moved to Rhyl on 16 April 2007. Our new address is:- WCVA Morfa Hall Bath Street Rhyl LL18 3EB Please remember to use this new address for any correspondence to the CRU Team. CRB Price Freeze The CRB have announced that their fees will be frozen at 2006/07 levels for the new financial year. The fees will continue therefore to be £31 Standard and £36 Enhanced throughout 2007/08. This information can be accessed through the following link http://www.crb.gov.uk or please download the CRB announcement at the bottom of this page. Investing in Volunteers WCVA CRU is pleased to report that two organisations Registered as Service Users have recently been awarded the Investing in Volunteers quality standard – The Conwy & Denbighshire NHS Trust Ward Volunteer Scheme and The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (North Wales). The Conwy & Denbighshire NHS Trust Ward Volunteer Scheme has been registered with CRU for 2 years and was piloted on 2 wards at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in April 2004 when initially only 16 volunteers were recruited. Today 105 Ward Volunteers, or Robins as they have become known, are working on 9 wards in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd as well as in Llangollen, Ruthin, Denbigh and Colwyn Bay Community Hospitals. The Robins assist ward staff to enhance the quality of patient care by doing extra services that the nursing staff do not always have time to do. For example, this may be simply spending time in general conversation, turning a hearing aid on or posting a letter. Joanna Tann, the Ward Volunteers Manager said “WCVA made the process logical and helped to keep us on track, the two day assessment was demanding for the assessor and the Trust but with commitment on all sides it proved to be very positive and enjoyable. The ward volunteers are delighted with the Trust's achievement of Investing in Volunteers as are the ward staff and management of the Trust. The resulting publicity will enable us to attract new volunteers and reaffirm our commitment to volunteering”. The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (North Wales) has also been registered with CRU for two years and offers a range of support services to anyone who has experienced a form of sexual violence, including a Helpline, counselling and raising community awareness. Three members of staff and approximately thirty volunteers provide a service throughout North Wales, with bases in Bangor, Holyhead and Caernarfon. Online Tracking The CRB has today (3 January 2007) launched its first online service. For the first time customers can now track the progress of an application form online, from receipt through to issue. This new service will provide much greater clarity and visibility of the service throughout the application process. Customers can access the service, free of charge from the CRB website www.crb.gov.uk/tracking by entering the application form reference number and the applicant's date of birth. This service will provide customers with the following information :- For Standard Disclosures customers can find out the application status at four distinct stages of the process. These being when the application has been received and validated; when the Police National Computer has been searched; when POCA, POVA and List 99 Checks have been undertaken (if applicable) and when the Disclosure has been printed. For Enhanced Disclosures customers will be informed of the status of the above checks in addition to the search on records held by the police, which in this case is the penultimate stage of the process. CIPD The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) are carrying out a new survey about the views and experiences of employers in connection with employing ex-offenders. The data collected will provide unique benchmarking information, and influence the Government about the needs of employers in developing good practice. This survey can be accessed through the following link http://www.cipd.co.uk/research/_exoffenderssurvey
Community Justice Awards Volunteers who are making a huge difference to communities by giving their time and commitment to the criminal justice system in North Wales were honoured at a special awards ceremony during Inside Justice Week (18-25 November). North Wales Criminal Justice Board, which oversees joint working between justice agencies in the region, hosted the awards ceremony for its second year supported by North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT), the High Sheriffs of Gwynedd and Clwyd, WCVA and sponsors Barclays Bank. There were eight award categories to honour people who work voluntarily in different areas of the criminal justice system, including victim and witness support, people who work with offenders and those who have previously been offenders but have turned their lives around to the benefit of their local community. Liz Flack, Head of WCVA Criminal Records Unit presented the award for a volunteer working with young offenders up to the age of 17 to Craig Hughes of Ynys Môn. Craig volunteers for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and assists in the delivery of Open College Network Education for substance misuse in Holyhead. Craig received this award having made significant personal developments in turning his life around after a troubled past and the positive help he gives to others. Liz Flack said 'These awards highlight the huge developments made in partnership working to bring the public, private and voluntary sectors together. Individuals like Craig make a tremendous contribution to the local community and it is a real privilege to be involved'.
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act On 8 November 2006, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act received Royal Assent. This Act lays the foundation for a new vetting and barring scheme, which will be phased in from autumn 2008. 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. For more information on this new Act please use the links the below or http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/vettingandbarring OR go to CRU Events and Seminars for information on our recent Policy Events and download the presentation entitled Vetting and Barring Scheme. This scheme is expected to go live on Monday 29 September 2008 and CRU will keep organisations fully informed of any developments as and when they occur. Department of Health
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre – CEOP The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre has launched the UK's first National website dedicated to locating child sex offenders who have failed to comply with notification requirements. Details of some of the UK's 'Most Wanted' offenders are now being posted on this website in this new initiative which reflects the continued determination of law enforcement partners to work together to ensure that every available step is taken to manage offenders within the community. This new initiative provides an opportunity for the public to work with the CEOP Centre and law enforcement agencies to help track offenders who try to avoid being managed by the authorities. Offenders who fail to register and provide details of their whereabouts are committing a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This is an arrestable offence with a punishment of up to five years imprisonment. This new site will be used to maximise opportunities to locate offenders who are 'missing' in order to protect children and the communities in which they live. For more information please use the following link :-
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