Disclosure and Barring Service

On 1^st December 2012 a new streamlined organisation to oversee criminal records checking, referral and barring went live (Disclosure and Barring Service).

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) course will raise your awareness of the events leading up to the Bichard Inquiry of 2004 and subsequent legislation which places certain duties upon employers and employees to ensure the safety of children, young people and vulnerable adults.  It will update delegates with the changes to the previous systems which include:

• introducing portable criminal records checks to eliminate many unnecessary repeat checks, along with an online updating service to make it easier for employers to assess individuals;
• introducing a single criminal records certificate which will be sent only to the applicant;
• introducing — for the first time — an independent right of review to allow individuals to challenge information disclosed about them before it is given to their employer; and
• reducing the number of positions requiring barring checks from 9.3 million to around 5 million.

The course will emphasise that employers should not just rely on checks by the DBS to make recruitment decisions. They have a professional duty to ensure that staff are properly managed and supervised and that, if they have concerns, information is referred to both the police and the DBS.

It is now a criminal offence for individuals barred by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 to work or apply to work ‘regulated activity’ with children or vulnerable adults. Employers also face criminal sanctions for knowingly employing a barred individual across a wider range of work.

Employers, local authorities, professional regulators and other bodies have a duty to refer to the ISA information about individuals working with children or vulnerable adults where they consider them to have caused harm or pose a risk of harm.

This course will include:

• The background of the ISA CRB
• Current developments and updates
• What is meant by ‘Regulated Activity’- Freedom of Information Act 2012
• Employers’ duties and responsibilities
• Awareness of requirement and time scales for registering with DBS
• Making referrals
• The role of the DBS check