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VETTING & BARRING SCHEME (Independent Safeguarding Authority - ISA)PLEASE NOTE: Registration for the proposed 'Vetting & Barring Sceme' has been halter, although some aspects of the role of the Independent Safeguarding Authority' still operate. FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE "VBS 'ON HOLD' - NEWS" fly-out tab from "Safeguarding" on the left-hand side menu. The law is changing From 12 October 2009, new measures were introduced to help prevent unsuitable people from undertaking paid or volunteer work with children or vulnerable adults. This is called the ‘Vetting and Barring Scheme’ (VBS).
To help implement the Scheme, a new public body called the ‘Independent Safeguarding Authority’ (ISA) has been created. The ISA make decisions over who should be barred from working with vulnerable people. These decisions are legally binding, so a barred person must not undertake certain roles under any circumstances. Failing to comply could result in both the employer and the employee or volunteer being prosecuted and even going to prison.
From 26th July 2010 all new employees, those moving jobs and volunteers who want to work with children or ‘vulnerable adults’ will be able to register with the ISA.
However, from 1st November 2010, all new employees and volunteers with children or ‘vulnerable adults’ must register before they start work/involvement. From then, it will be illegal to employ people or involve volunteers in ‘regulated’ or ‘controlled’ activities with children or ‘vulnerable adults’ who are not ISA-registered.
However, the Scheme does not apply where an arrangement is a private family arrangement or an arrangement is made personally between friends, and is not on a commercial basis.
Whether the Scheme’s requirement to register with the ISA will apply depends in particular on two key principles:
· If an activity is arranged by/for an organisation (as opposed to being a private arrangement).
· If that activity is ‘frequent’ (once a week or more, or once a month in health/personal care) or ‘intensive’ (4 occasions a month or more) and/or overnight.
What is regulated activity?
Regulated activity is any activity which involves contact with children or ‘vulnerable adults’. This could be paid or voluntary work.
Such activities include:
· Any activity of a specified nature (such as teaching, training, care, supervision, advice, treatment, transport) which involves contact with children or ‘vulnerable adults’ frequently(once a week or more); intensively (4 or more occasions in a 30 day period); and/or overnight (2am-6am).
· Any activity allowing contact with children or vulnerable adults that is in a specified place (such as schools, children’s homes, hospitals, juvenile detention, adult care homes) frequently or intensively in the same specific place and/or overnight.
· Fostering and childcare.
· Any activity that involves people in certain defined positions of responsibility.
Roles generally include teachers, sports coaches, private tutors, youth workers, driving instructors, child care workers, contracted taxi drivers, volunteers with organisations working with children or ‘vulnerable adults’.
Working with the CRB
ISA-registration will not currently be replacing the need for ‘Criminal Records Bureau’ (CRB) Disclosure but represents an extra level of protection. This new Scheme helps to ensure that employers can be more confident than ever before that they are hiring a suitable person by making it a legal requirement for everyone who is working with children or ‘vulnerable adults’ to be ISA-registered and for people knowingly ‘barred’ not to seek such employment/volunteering.
A CRB Disclosure will also reveal if the person has any particular or specific convictions that although might not be child/vulnerable adult-related would make an organisation consider them unsuitable to do the specific involvement, such as convictions for theft, fraud or dishonesty. When used together, the ISA-registration and CRB checking process will provide employers with one of the most comprehensive assessment and review services available to date.
How employees and employers are affected
From 1st November 2010, all new employees and volunteers who want to work with children and ‘vulnerable adults’ in a wide variety of specific settings must by law be ISA-registered before they can be legally employed or involved. Obtaining ISA-registration is the employee’s or volunteer’s responsibility.
It does not have to be a difficult or time-consuming process and there is a one-off cost of £64 (£28 ISA/£36 CRB administration costs). However, ISA-registration for unpaid volunteers is free, although the registered ‘umbrella body’ who carries out a CRB Disclosure/ISA Registration may charge an administration fee.
There are two areas of ISA-registration, one covering working with children and one covering working with ‘vulnerable adults’. Once successfully ISA-registered, for either or both groups, an individual is ISA-registered for life in most cases and does not need to reapply.
For employers/organisations wanting to involve that person as an employee or volunteer, they will need to first check their registration status. This can be done online for free. Only then, when a candidate’s ISA-registration has been confirmed, can they be taken on.
At first, the Scheme will affect new employees and volunteers only. Over time, the registration process will be phased in to include current employees and volunteers.
From 26th July 2010:
· New CRB/ISA application forms available and online registration status website available.
· New job applicants can now apply for ISA registration but are not yet required to
From 1st November 2010:
· All new job applicants and job movers MUST now by law apply for ISA registration.
· Employers and voluntary organisations working with children and ‘vulnerable adults’ cannot recruit workers/volunteers who are not ISA-registered.
From 1st April 2011-1st July 2015:
· Existing employees and volunteers will be phased in for ISA registration from 1st April 2011, along the lines of those with no CRB in place; those with a current CRB in place of 3 years old; those with more recent CRB at all in place; then the remainder of those who have had a CRB and those who work in ‘controlled’ activity, so that by 1st July 2015 ALL people (paid and voluntary) involved in 'regulated activity' MUST be registered.
Please note: The new Government has indicated that it is likely to be reviewing the ISA and Vetting & Barring Scheme. More information when available. However, for now, the scheme is as it is.
For more information about the ‘Vetting and Barring Scheme’, the ‘Independent Safeguarding Authority’, the registration process, who is affected and how, please visit www.isa-gov.org.uk
The latest (March 2010) Guidance on the 'Vetting & Barring Scheme' from the 'Independent Safeguarding Authority' is available from the ISA website by clicking here .
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