You may know by now, but the Home Secretary announced on 15th June 2010 that the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) will be halted, pending a review by Government. This means that the arrangements for registration with the Independent Safeguarding Authority, due to start on 26th July 2010, has been put on hold. At this stage we don’t know how long the review will take, however the Taking Care Office will endeavour to keep you informed of any developments. Access NI have gone ahead with the introduction of the new application forms and these new application forms are now available from the Taking Care Office. They can also be downloaded from the Taking Care website. Please note that until the ISA Registration Scheme is released by the Government, Part C of the form (for ISA registration) should be ignored and left blank for now.
As you may have heard, David Cameron’s coalition government decided to ’scrap’ the Vetting and Barring scheme and replace it with a more ‘common sense’ approach to vetting.
It is important to stress that there are no specific changes at present and it is business as usual at Access NI and the Taking Care Office.
New legislation will have to be put into place in 2012 before the new scheme can even be implemented.
DO NOT WAIT until this new system comes into place! It cannot be stressed enough that leaders should undergo a police check (whether that be an Access NI form or a Garda Vetting form depending on where the applicant lives) as part of the appointment process. Leaders should not be asked to complete a form after they have already been in post. As 95% of Access NI forms are processed within two weeks plus a day or two at the Taking Care office, there is no excuse!
The government’s review and recommendations can be found on the Home Office website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/vbs-report
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