Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) Update

July registration halted as VBS is remodelled

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, has today (15th June 2010) issued a statement to the House of Commons which confirms the stated intention of the coalition Government to review the Vetting & Barring and criminal records regimes to ensure that they are scaled back to common sense levels.

Background to the Vetting & Barring Scheme (VBS)

The VBS was designed to protect children and vulnerable adults by preventing those who pose a known risk from gaining access to them through their work or volunteering. The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) now maintains two lists, one of those barred from working with children, the other of those barred from working with vulnerable adults.
Impact on Registration

Voluntary registration with the Scheme was due to start on 26 July and was being limited to new employees and job-movers working or volunteering with children or vulnerable adults.

However, as a consequence of this today's announcement, the introduction of the Scheme will be stopped to allow the Government to re-model it to common sense levels.

Scope of the process

The process for remodelling the Vetting & Barring Scheme is currently being finalised. Further details will be announced shortly and we will provide you with this information as soon as it is available.

We recognise that this change in plans may impact on the preparations you have already undertaken, however it is essential that Ministers have the opportunity to consider the Scheme's impact and the role it should play.
What will the CRB/AccessNI be doing during the remodelling period?

During this process it will be business as usual for the CRB and AccessNI's Disclosure service. Although the Scheme has been stopped, changes introduced in October 2009 are still in place. Organisations that are engaging individuals to work in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults should continue to use their existing safeguarding practices, including the use of enhanced CRB/AccessNI disclosures where these are required by law or regarded as appropriate by employers.

Continued Safeguarding

Whilst the Scheme is being remodelled existing safeguarding regulations remain in force and should be adhered to. The following changes came into effect from 12th October 2009.

  • it is now a criminal offence for barred individuals to apply to work with children or vulnerable adults in a wider range of posts than previously. Employers also face criminal sanctions for knowingly employing a barred individual across a wider range of work;
  • the previous barring lists have been replaced by two new barred lists administered by the ISA rather than several Government departments. Now, checks of these two lists can be made as part of an Enhanced CRB/AccessNI check;
  • additional jobs and voluntary positions are covered by the new regulations, including moderators of children's internet chat rooms and large numbers of NHS and justice sector staff;
  • employers, local authorities, professional regulators and inspection bodies are now under a duty to refer to the ISA any information about an individual where they consider them to have caused harm or pose a risk of harm to vulnerable groups, such as why they stopped, or considered stopping, an individual working with vulnerable groups.


Keep up to date

All customers are advised to check the CRB / AccessNI websites (www.crb.homeoffice.gov.uk or www.accessni.gov.uk ) for the latest information on the disclosure process. Alternatively, you can contact the CRB Customer Services team on 0870 90 90 811

The latest guidance about the other aspects of the scheme is available via www.direct.gov.uk or www.nidirect.gov.uk/vetting or www.businesslink.gov.uk . The VBS contact centre can also provide you with guidance if you call them on 0300 123 1111 (this is a lo-call number and will only cost you the same as making a local call).

Over 66,000 employers, charities and voluntary groups have registered an interest in being updated on the Vetting & Barring Scheme, and this newsletter is being circulated as an update to those individuals and organisations. If you know of anyone else who would like to be kept updated, please forward this to them and ask that they complete their details on the ISA website (click here) to receive information directly in the future.

Further information for Registered Bodies and CRB customers.

Impact on CRB application process

As a result of ISA registration being stopped, the CRB has had to consider the impact on its application process. You will be aware that the CRB has recently provided Registered Bodies with an initial stock of new (purple) application forms in readiness for the planned launch of the ISA registration phase in July, and although this phase of the VBS has now been halted, the CRB will still launch the new application form on 26 July 2010 as originally planned.

This is to reduce the inconvenience to you during this period. In order to process your applications, the CRB will extract and ignore those parts of the new application form which capture ISA registration requirements, and use only those data fields which are required to process a CRB check.

You may begin to submit applications using the new (purple) form from 28 June 2010. However, please note that applications received on or after this date for Enhanced or Standard checks will not begin to be processed until 26 July 2010, as originally planned for ISA registrations. This is the date by which we will have switched over to the new processing system and will be able to handle the new forms.

Click here for some answers to questions that you may have about the transition to the new application form and a timetable of important dates.