News & Events

Industrial action at the CRB

Members of the civil service union, Public and Commercial Services, have voted to go on a national two day strike on Monday 8 March and Tuesday 9 March. The CRB will remain open for business on the two days and will focus its efforts to maintain essential services such as the call centre.

WCVA Policy Events

The April round of the Policy Events will be focused on the Vetting and Barring Scheme. There will be a presentation from VBS Communications, a Q&A session and the opportunity to attend workshops on the referral process, sports specific VBS guidance and the application process. Find out more WCVA Policy Events

Vetting and Barring Scheme Myth Buster

The DSCF has released a myth buster to help organisations navigate the Vetting and Barring Scheme. VBS myth buster/Heriwr myth

Panorama BBC1 Monday 8 February 8:30pm

Discussing the possible effects of the Vetting and Barring Scheme.

ISA Information Roadshows

Now registering at ISA Information Roadshow/Sioeau Teithio Gwybodaeth am ISA

Urgent Announcement - ISA VBS

WCA CRU is aware of the reported changes in the ISA Vetting and Barring Scheme and will be amending our advice and guidance to reflect this. In the meantime please find the Drawing the Line Report December 2009 taking into accounc public concerns with regards to frequency of contact triggering the obligation to register with ISA. Please find the Drawing the Line Report - CRU Response

ISA Referral Guidance

The Independent Safeguarding Authority has released it's Referral Guidance providing advice to those making referrals. Under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 regulated activity providers have a legal duty to refer information to ISA from October 2009. Please follow the ISA

ISA Toolkit

To help organisations communicate the new Vetting and Barring Scheme information ISA have just released an online toolkit containing a selection of downloadable material, from posters to inserts. To access this please visit Vetting and Barring Scheme

CRB Reduce Fees

The CRB has announced that from October 2009 it will reduce the fee for a Standard Disclosure to £26.

Safeguarding Adults – Report on the Consultation on the Review of “No Secrets: Guidance on developing and implementing multi-agency policies and procedures to protect vulnerable adults from abuse.”

This report summarises the responses to a consultation on the no secrets guidance that sets out the responsibility of local authorities to investigate and take action when a vulnerable adult is believed to be suffering abuse.

The Welsh equivalent of No secrets, entitled “In Safe Hands – Implementing Adult Protection Procedures In Wales July 2000”, is also under review by the Welsh Assembly Government. The review is being conducted by the University of Glamorgan and their report is due in Autumn 2009. Policing in Wales remains the responsibility of the Home Office so Welsh police forces have also contributed to the No secrets consultation and the Home Office is liaising with the Welsh Assembly Government over the review.

Revised CRB Code of Practice April 2009

Organisations that wish to use CRB checks must comply with the CRB's Code of Practice, developed after a lengthy public consultation exercise with input from a range of organisations.

For more information click on the following link Criminal Records Bureau

ISA Announcement

WCVA CRU would like to draw your attention to the ministerial statement made on 19 March 2009 by Meg Hillier, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Identity in which a revised date for the duty to register with the Scheme has been announced as 26 July 2010. However, from October 2009 eligibility for Enhanced checks will expand to include more employment and voluntary positions and Standard CRB checks will no longer be available for those working with children or vulnerable adults.

In the intervening period it is important therefore to remind organisations of the importance of continuing to carry out CRB disclosure checks for staff and volunteers working with vulnerable groups where eligible. However, neither CRB checks nor ISA, when enforceable, are a replacement for the safe recruitment and employment practices that all employers should already follow.

Vetting and Barring Scheme Contact Centre

The Vetting and Barring Scheme contact centre has now opened - phone 0300 123 111 Monday to Friday between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm. CRU would welcome feedback on your experiences using this new service.

Wales Charity Law Conference 2009

This year's conference will be held in Cardiff on 21 May and will offer the usual spread of high quality presentations and workshops on a variety of legal topics. It will also place some focus on the recessionary environment, looking at relevant legal issues and strategies to manage them.

Session 4: Independent Safeguarding Authority and the Vetting Barring Scheme - Liz Flack – Head of Criminal Records Unit, WCVA

For more information click on current Events page.

Protecting children from sexual abuse

At least 10 children have been protected from potential abuse by sex offenders in the first six months of the government's child sexual offender disclosure pilot.

This early success has led to the decision to extend the scheme within the police forces involved. From 16 March 2009 the pilot will be extended force-wide in Cleveland, Cambridgeshire and Hampshire). The fourth pilot site, Warwickshire, is already force-wide.

Since the pilot launched six months ago, provisional information provided by the police forces shows there have been a total of 153 enquiries and 79 applications from parents, carers and guardians. Ten disclosures have taken place.

Under the terms of the pilot, launched in September 2008, a parent, carer or guardian can request that an individual who has access to their child or children is checked out for a record of child sexual offences. If this individual is found to have convictions for sexual offences against children, and poses a risk of causing serious harm to the child or children concerned, then this information may be disclosed to the person best placed to protect the child – usually the parent, carer or guardian.

Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary said, 'Protecting children and families from sex offenders is one of my top priorities and the UK has one of the most robust systems of managing sex offenders in the world. Today's results are extremely encouraging - this pilot has provided crucial protection for children who might otherwise be at risk.

'The development of this scheme in consultation with Sara Payne, the police and children's charities has been a major step forward in our ability to protect children from sex offenders but also to empower parents and guardians to understand how to best protect their children.

For more information click on the following link :- Child-sex-offenders-disclosure

ISA Decision Making Process

The Independent Safeguarding Authority has published its “Decision Making Process” on its website. This process is the method used by the ISA's caseworkers and the ISA Board to decide whether it is appropriate that an individual should be barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.

To view this please visit ISA and click on Resource Library or if you have any questions please contact ISA at info@isa.gsi.gov.uk

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

Championing volunteers in the criminal justice system

Baroness Julia Neuberger, the government's independent volunteering Champion, is calling for more offenders to be able to volunteer as part of their rehabilitation. Baroness Neuberger said 'There simply wouldn't be a reliable criminal justice system in this country without the dedication of volunteers so I want to see more emphasis put on their role right across the system'.

Her second report, in the series examining the role of volunteers and volunteering in public services, highlights the valuable contribution that thousands of volunteers make to reducing crime and re-offending, delivering justice and bringing about safer communities. Please use this link to download the report.

ISA Guidance

The Independent Safeguarding Authority Vetting and Barring Scheme was launched on 12 October 2009 introducing the following safeguards to further enhance the protection of children and vulnerable adults:

• It is a criminal offence for barred individuals to apply to work with children or vulnerable adults in a wide range of posts. Employers will also face criminal penalties if they knowingly permit barred individuals to engage in Regulated activity
• POVA, POCA and List 99 are replaced by the creation of tow new barred lists adminstered by ISA. Checks of these two lists can now be made as part of the Enhanced CRB check
• Employers, social services and professional regulators have a duty to refer to the ISA any information about individuals who may pose a risk to children and vulnerable adults

It is also important to be aware that Standard CRB checks are no longer available for posts working with children and vulnerable adults as the eligibility for Enhanced CRB checks has been extended to include anyone working in Regulated Activity.

ISA have released the VBS Guidance and Referral Guidance which provide informaiton on the Scheme and how to make referrals. Please visit the ISA ISA or contact WCVA CRU on 0800 0197 391