The Home Secretary, Theresa May, on 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.
The commencement of voluntary registration with the new Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) or ISA registration as it is commonly known, has been suspended.
Although the new registration scheme has been stopped, the legislative changes introduced in October 2009 are still in place. Checks will still be done by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and it remains a criminal offence to:-
• Knowingly employ, or use a barred person as a volunteer
• Seek to work, in a regulated activity if a person knows they are barred
• If employers dismiss anyone because they harmed or pose a risk of harm to children or vulnerable adults, they must refer the case to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).
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 disclosures where these are required by law.
A full appraisal of the announcement can be found on www.isa.gov.uk
