| Q.
How long will it take to obtain a Disclosure? |
|
A.
The CRB inform us that upon receipt of a fully completed
and valid application form Disclosures will be issued
within the following turnaround times:
Enhanced
Disclosure - 90% within 4 weeks
Standard
Disclosure - 90% within 2 weeks
Basic Disclosure
- Not yet available.
|
| Q.
What is the Care
Standards Act? |
|
A.
In
summary this act:
- Establishes
a new, independent regulatory body for social care
and private and voluntary healthcare services (care
services) in England to be known as the National Care
Standards Commission.
- Provides
for an arm of the National Assembly for Wales to be
the regulatory body for such services in Wales.
- Establishes
an office of the Children's Commissioner for Wales.
- Reforms
the regulation of childminders and day care provision
for young children.
- Provides
for the Secretary of State to maintain a list of individuals
who are considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable
adults.
The main
purpose of the Act is to reform the regulatory system
for care services in England and Wales. Care services
range from residential care homes and nursing homes,
children's homes, domiciliary care agencies, fostering
agencies and voluntary adoption agencies through to
private and voluntary healthcare services (including
private hospitals and clinics and private primary care
premises). For the first time, local authorities will
be required to meet the same standards as independent
sector providers.
In England
the Act provides for an independent National Care Standards
Commission to undertake this regulatory function. In
Wales this function will be carried out by a new arm
of the National Assembly for Wales, which will be established
as either a department or and agency of the National
Assembly for Wales.
|
| Q.
How many types of Disclosure will there be and what do
they mean? |
| A.
Part V of the Police Act 1997
makes provision for three different levels of criminal
record checks. Once a check is complete, one of three
Disclosures will be issued: Basic, Standard and Enhanced.
The type
of check carried out will depend on the nature of the
position applied for.
The Basic
Disclosure.
All employers and volunteering organisations will be
entitled to ask prospective employees/volunteers to
obtain a Basic Disclosure. This Disclosure will be available
to all members of the public and may be obtainable directly
from the CRB without the need to go through an employer
or volunteering organisation. The Basic Disclosure will
show all convictions held at national level which are
not 'spent' as defined under the terms of the Rehabilitation
of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974.
The Standard Disclosure.
These are primarily for positions that involve working
with children or regular contact with vulnerable adults.
They will also be issued in other circumstances such
as for those providing health services and for those
entering certain professions such as accountancy. These
are some of the excepted professions, offices and employments
referred to in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
(Exceptions) Order 1975.
Standard
Disclosures contain details of all convictions on record
(including 'spent' convictions - i.e. those that happened
some time ago and normally no longer need to be revealed
as specified in the Rehabilitation Act 1974) plus details
of any cautions, reprimands or warnings. For positions
involving 'working with children' also give information
contained on a government department lists of people
considered unsuitable to work with children. These lists
are currently held by the DfES and DH.
The Enhanced Disclosure.
These are for posts involving greater contact with children
or vulnerable adults such as a social worker or doctor.
Such work might involve regularly caring for, training,
supervising or being in sole charge of such people.
Enhanced Disclosures will also be issued in respect
of other positions such as those seeking judicial appointments,
and certain statutory licensing purposes.
All Enhanced Disclosures involve an extra level of checking
with local police force records in addition to checks
with the Police National Computer (PNC) and the government
department lists held by the DfES and DH, where appropriate.
Local police information can be contained on the both
copies of the Disclosure. It is up to the Chief Constable
of the police force to decide what, if any, information
is disclosed. An example of information contained on
both Disclosures could be details of a child protection
case conference. Chief Constables can decide that some
information is relevant to the position but do not wish
the prospective employee to see sight of this information.
This could be details of suspected criminal activity
were an arrest has not taken place but is anticipated.
If this type of local information is available it will
be indicated on the top of the Disclosure that further
information is being sent by the police. This information
will be sent separately to the employer/volunteering
organisation
only.
|
| Q.
Will only criminal record information be available from
the CRB? |
| A.
No. Amendments that have been made to
Part V of the Police Act 1997 mean that the CRB will
act as a central access point not only to criminal records
information, but also to the Department for Education
and Skills (DfES) List 99 and the Department of Health
POCA list (Protect Of Children
Act List Service) which lists people considered unsuitable
to work with children. At some point in the future there
will be a further list available (under the Care
Standards Act 2000) called the Protection of Vulnerable
Adult List (POVA List) of those considered unsuitable
to work with vulnerable adults. When someone is applying
for a Standard or Enhanced Disclosure to work with children
or vulnerable adults, checks will be carried out on these
lists as well, and the Disclosure will record whether
the applicant is included on any of those lists. |
| Q.
What will happen to any existing arrangements for checks
with local polices forces when the CRB becomes operational?
|
| A.
Once the Disclosure service becomes operational the vast
majority of criminal record checks that are currently
carried out with local polices forces will cease, access
to this information will then be via the CRB, although
some, for reasons of practicality, will remain. |
| Q.
Who pays for the cost of the Disclosure? |
| A.
The cost of the Disclosure is borne by the applicant;
however, an employer or volunteering organisation can
decide to either pay for the Disclosure on behalf of the
applicant or reimburse the cost to the applicant if they
wish to do so. |
