New vetting and barring scheme

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006) lays the foundation for the new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) scheme which will be rolled out from 12 October 2009. NHS Employers' role is to ensure that employers have a say in the creation of the new scheme and to support trusts through the implementation stages.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006)

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act was created in response to recommendations made in the Bichard Inquiry arising from the Soham murders in 2002. The Inquiry questioned the way employers recruit people to work with vulnerable groups, and particularly the way background checks are carried out. Recommendation 19 of the Inquiry highlighted the need for a single agency to vet all individuals who want to work, or volunteer to work, with children or vulnerable adults and to bar unsuitable people from doing so.

The Act which received Royal Assent on 8 November 2006, lays foundation for the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) Scheme which will come into force from 12 October 2009.

Copies of the Act and an explanatory note can be downloaded from the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website.

The Independent Safeguarding Authority

The Independent Safeguarding Authority (the ISA) is an independent non-departmental public body set up by the Home Office to provide new safeguarding arrangements for children and vulnerable adults. It will be based in Darlington and will consist of a small board of public appointees and up to 300 employees.

The ISA will take all discretionary decisions on who should be placed on the barred lists both prior to an individual's employment and, if necessary, following a referral into the Independent Safeguarding Authority Scheme (the ISA Scheme). The application processes for decisions will be run by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) Scheme

On the 1 April 2008, the Home Office announced that from 12 October 2009 individuals entering or changing jobs within 'regulated activity' will need to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

The implementation of the new ISA Scheme will introduce the most stringent vetting and barring service yet, building on current legislation around pre and post employment checks to provide a more robust system to prevent unsuitable people gaining access to vulnerable adults and children. The new scheme replaces the current government lists under the Protection of Children's Act (PoCA), Protection of Vulnerable Adults Act (PoVA) and List 99; there will be two main registers under the new system, one to cover working with children and one to cover working with vulnerable adults. Further information about the scheme can be found on the ISA website.

NHS Employers will continue to work closely with the Home Office and ISA to provide regular updates through this web page and the NHS Workforce Bulletin as more information becomes available.

Why has the Home Office decided to delay implementation from 2008 to 2009?

After full consultation with HM Treasury and key stakeholders, the Home Office announced on 1 April 2008 that the new ISA scheme will be implemented from 12 October 2009. The delayed launch date ensures that a full and robust testing regime can be followed to ensure that the scheme will work properly from the outset. Whilst it is important to ensure that the new scheme is brought in as quickly as possible, it is also vital to ensure that it can deal with the demand it will create and employers are supported to manage the new changes.

Geographical coverage

The service will extend to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, although arrangements for application and appeals may differ slightly in Northern Ireland.

A separate but aligned scheme is being set up in Scotland under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill. Anyone included on a barred list in Scotland will also be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults across the UK.

Workforce coverage

Those who work with children or adults who may be vulnerable to abuse or exploitation in a wide range of settings, in both paid and unpaid work, will be eligible for an ISA check. This is a significant step forward from the existing Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) scheme, which has been implemented in regulated social care settings only and does not currently apply to the NHS.

The scheme will ensure that those who are known to present a risk of harm to others are prevented from entering the workforce in the first place.

It is important to note that the new scheme does not mean an automatic barring of all individuals who may have a criminal conviction. The ISA will only bar people who are identified as posing an obvious risk, it is therefore essential that a CRB check is also carried out to obtain a full picture of the individual's record before appointing them - this is further outlined in the section below.

Members of staff who are already working within regulated activity will have their registrations phased in over a period of five years (further information about the steps of implementation are yet to be confirmed by the Home Office).

ISA checks v CRB checks

One of the growing misconceptions is that registration with the ISA removes the need to carry out a CRB check. This is not the case, it is still mandatory in the NHS to carry out a full CRB disclosure on any post that meets the criterion for a standard or enhanced check.

The ISA and the CRB offer employers different but complementary safeguards when recruiting people to work with vulnerable groups. Checking the on-line status of a person with the ISA is essential to ensure that employers do not employ a person who poses a known risk to children and/or vulnerable adults and to meet the legal requirements placed on them by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act. However, it is important that CRB checks are used in parallel with ISA scheme checks to ensure that employers are at not at risk of employing someone who is unsuitable to do the actual job.

For example:

An enhanced CRB check will reveal:

• the person's full criminal record; and
• all relevant information held locally by the police; and, if requested
• if the person is ISA registered to work with children/vulnerable adults, or if they are barred. If barred, it will also reveal the reasons for the bar.

Whilst a person can be registered with the ISA as someone who has been vetted and found not to be unsuitable to work with these groups, they could still have a criminal record which, if you knew about it, would actually make them an unsuitable candidate for the job. This can be better explained in the scenarios below:

• A paramedic driving an ambulance - if you only carry out an on-line ISA check you will know that, that person is registered to work with children and/or vulnerable adults but that person may have had a conviction for dangerous driving which would only show up if you also requested a CRB check
• A nurse - if you carry out an on-line ISA check and register your interest in that individual with ISA, then you will automatically be notified of changes to that person's status. However, without a CRB check, you will not know if they are subsequently convicted of a serious drug offence, for example, as this would be unlikely to alter their ISA status.

Under the new Scheme, anyone appointed to a post which involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults will require an enhanced check from October 2009.

How do you register onto the scheme?

This can be done by the individual by going directly to the ISA website and downloading an application form, or requesting an application form from their employer/professional body. Individuals in England and Wales will need to send their application forms either directly, or through their employer/professional body, to the CRB in Liverpool.

Individuals in Northern Ireland will need to apply through AccessNI and individuals in Scotland will need to apply through Disclosure Scotland.

Once the individual is registered they are issued with a unique ID number. A prospective employer will need to seek the individual's permission and obtain their ID number to access details about their ISA status.

Checking an individual's ISA status on-line is free of charge. Employers seeking ISA status as part of an enhanced check will only incur the usual CRB fee for an enhanced check which currently stands at £36.

The CRB will issue new application forms to all Registered Bodies well in advance of the go live date so that employers can ensure that their staff are appropriately trained and changes to their own systems and procedures can be implemented.

How much will registration with ISA cost?

The cost for registration on the ISA scheme is £64.00. This is a one off life-time fee. That is to say, if a person changes jobs or takes on a new voluntary activity, ISA registration is transferable and the individual is not required to apply again. Volunteers do not have to pay for their ISA registration, in line with current arrangements for CRB checks.

The fee consists of two components - a CRB enhanced disclosure which currently costs £36 and the cost of the ISA registration which is £28.

Legally the responsibility for paying the fee for ISA registration rests with the individual, however, many employers will no doubt wish to consider paying the fee on behalf of their staff so as not to discourage applicants from applying for NHS jobs.

Consistent and continual monitoring

Where relevant new information becomes known about an individual who is already in the workforce and being monitored by the Scheme the ISA will, if necessary, review the original decision not to bar.

Registering your interest on a person who is already ISA registered will mean that you are automatically informed if the status of the person's ISA registration changes.

Policy consultation

The Home Office in partnership with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department of Health (DH) opened a 13-week consultation from 14 November 2007 asking for responses by 20 February 2008. The consultation sought views on a wide range of policy issues that will ensure the successful implementation of the Act.

For further details about current and previous consultations and their outcomes, please refer to the DCSF website.