03.09.12
Important changes to Safeguarding Legislation
The Story so far ...
The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) is a British non-departmental public body which was created by the Labour Government 2007-2010. The tabloid media campaign and the decision to set up the ISA followed an inquiry headed by Sir Michael Bichard that was set up in the wake of theSoham Murders. The ISA was to oversee a new Vetting and Barring Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which was to have required all those working with vulnerable groups to undergo an enhanced vetting procedure before being allowed to commence any relevant duties.
On 15 June 2010, the new coalition government via Home Secretary Teresa May announced that plans under which all new applicants for jobs working with children and the vulnerable along with those changing posts would have to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority were being halted and that the Vetting and Barring Scheme would be severely "scaled back". She then announced that this would save the UK taxpayer around £100 million a year. The Home Secretary went on to say that the protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults would from here on focus upon "common sense" rather than the measures Labour introduced. She said that "what we have got to do is actually trust people again (and that the philosophy behind the setting up of the ISA was based upon an assumption that) you were assumed to be guilty, in a sense, until you were proven innocent and told you were able to work with children."
A review into the Vetting and Barring Scheme was published on 11 February 2011. This made recommendations for the merger of the Criminal Records Bureau and Independent Safeguarding Authority into one non-departmental public body, responsible for barring individuals and completing criminal record checks. Under the Protection of Freedoms Act, the new scheme will not require registration, nor in most cases will any details be retained on a database. The exception will be for those who are barred, whether this be on the basis of a crime or on the basis of 'soft intelligence', e.g. a dismissal by an employer. This has led to continued criticism from a variety of organizations.
Current Guidance as at 1st Sep 2012
A number of changes have taken place during 2012 which affect how clubs, coaches and facility managers need to manage safeguarding within their environments. A summary of these changes is laid out below:
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
This act has a number of implications for CRB checks. In the first instance please seek clarification from your sports national governing body as to how this will impact your sport. In addition the Sport + Recreation Alliance are also working with the Child Protection in Sport Unit to draft up sector guidance on how to interpret and define aspects of the Act e.g. the definition of supervision.
On 31 August 2012 Changes to checking applicant’s identity verification were implemented and a few weeks later on 10 September some new definitions and clarifications were announced including:
- New definition of Regulated Activity (one for adults and one for children) comes into force;
- Repeal of Controlled Activity;
- Repeal of registration and continuous monitoring;
- Repeal of additional information;
- Introduction of 16 yrs old as the minimum age at which someone can apply for a CRB check;
- More rigorous ‘relevancy’ test for when police release information held locally on an enhanced CRB checks
In December 2012 the CRB will merge with the ISA and become the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), the new organisation will provide a joined up, seamless service to combine the criminal records and the barring functions. Until the creation of the DBS on 3 December 2012, it is business as usual for the CRB and ISA.
Then in Spring 2013 changes to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 will come into force, the two biggest issues for our sector will be :
1. Single Disclosure
2. Continuous Updating
Further information can be found on the Sport + Recreation Alliance site or the CRB website.
The Story so far - postedited from Wikipedia
