VBS Review - update

1. VBS Review - update Paul Bedwell Business Manager Essex Safeguarding Adults Board

2. The Vetting and Barring Scheme - Milestones 12th October 2009 VBS introduced. • Unlawful to employ a person who is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults. • Legal duty to refer individuals to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) if they have harmed or risked harm a child or vulnerable adult. October 2010 Terms of reference for review of VBS announced 11th February 2011 Report of Review published and changes to legislation included in the Protection of Freedoms Bill

3. Responsibilities of employers now • Get a copy of the referral guidance from the ISA website • Work out who in your staff is in regulated activity • Ensure you do not knowingly employ a new worker who is barred • Ensure you continue to use existing CRB checks and good pre-employment checks • If you remove a person from working with children or vulnerable adults (following an investigation) because, on the balance of probability, you conclude they harmed (or risked harm) to a VA or child- you have a duty to refer them to the ISA • If you work in Safeguarding and conclude through investigation a person has been harmed by an individual and you think the ISA may bar- you have a duty to refer the person to the ISA • Ensure your organisation has nominated individuals to make referrals to the ISA

4. Review - Main points(subject to Parliament) • Registration and monitoring scrapped • Regulated Activity based on activity carried out • Controlled activity scrapped • Individual will receive CRB check directly • For many offences, no bar before person has chance to put their side of the story • Law will require barred list check for those in regulated activity • Work that is now in regulated activity - but is being removed - employers have choice about CRB checks.

5. Regulated activity (subject to Parliament) Focus is on activity carried out – rather than label people as vulnerable Regulated activity is provision of: • Health care • Personal care • Social work care • Assistance with money – i.e. help with shopping paying bills • Making decisions on behalf of another - finance or welfare • Transport No frequency condition Applies whether employed, self employed or voluntary

6. Health care(subject to Parliament) • All treatment or care provided by health care professionals • Includes care provided by non-professionals who are supervised or directed by a professional • Health care professional = registered with a professional body, e.g GMC, NMC, HPC • Includes training, advice and guidance etc. given in relation to an individual’s specific health care needs

7. Personal care(subject to Parliament) • Referred to as ‘relevant’ personal care in legislation • Means assistance with the following by reason of age, illness or disability: - eating or drinking - toileting - washing and bathing - dressing - oral care - care of skin, hair or nails • Prompting of the above

8. Relevant social work(subject to Parliament) • Means provision by a social care worker of relevant social work to clients or potential clients. • Relevant social work means - social work which is required in connection with any health, education or social services provided by any person • Social care worker means - a person engaged in work for the purposes of a local authorities social service functions (provided or commissioned by the local authority)

9. Assistance with money(subject to Parliament) • Day to day management of money connected with running a household • Informal arrangement to someone who needs assistance by reason of age, illness or disability • Includes shopping, paying bills, paying in or withdrawing money from a bank • Does not include financial planning advice • Appointee to receive payments of social security benefits

10. Making decisions(subject to Parliament) • Refers to formal arrangements • Lasting power of attorney created • Enduring power of attorney registered or applied for • A Section 16 order made by the Court of Protection under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 • Appointment of Independent Mental Health Advocate • Appointment of Independent Mental Health Capacity Advocate

11. Transport(subject to Parliament) Regulations will be made to include: • Patient transport • Hospital porters • Drivers taking adults to and from a place providing health or social care services • Ambulance drivers

12. Exclusions(subject to Parliament) • Friends and family members Regulations will be made to exclude: • staff employed in pharmacies, dentists and high street opticians who are not health care professionals but may potentially be seen to be acting under the direction of a health care professional • ancillary treatment e.g a designated first-aider in a workplace where first aid is ancillary to their normal duties • peer support or self help groups who share experience and give guidance to each other in relation to a condition, illness or disability • specified services provided for people with certain prescribed disabilities as already excluded (e.g. dyslexia)

13. Children(subject to Parliament) Broadly speaking, the activities specified in Part 1 of Schedule 4 comprise of paid and unpaid work that involves certain close interaction with or (in a specified place) the opportunity for contact with children and work carried out by individuals occupying certain specified positions (‘office-holders’) related to the services provided for or in relation to children. This work must not be carried out by an individual who is barred. A person may be barred as a result of committing certain offences or following a decision by the barring authority that the individual presents a risk of harm to children; a person can also be barred in England and Wales by virtue of being included on a corresponding barred list in Northern Ireland or Scotland. • 258. The amendments made by this clause provide that regulated activity relating to children no longer includes: • Any supervised teaching, training or instruction of children or the provision of any care or supervision of children by a person who is being supervised by another. The exceptions to this are where certain types of personal care or health care are provided to children or where any of the activities mentioned above takes place in a specified place such as a school, child care setting, children’s home or children’s centre. The requirement in Schedule 4 to the SVGA for any activity mentioned above to be undertaken regularly (for it to be a regulated activity) is removed in relation to the provision of certain types of personal care or health care; • The provision of any legal advice to a child; • Any paid work that is carried out in a specified place, which gives the worker the opportunity to have contact with children and which is of an occasional or temporary nature (excluding any teaching, training, instruction, care for or supervision of or advice to children that is carried out on an occasional or temporary basis). This would, for example, mean that work carried out in a school by maintenance or building contractors is no longer a regulated activity relating to children but that any teaching by supply/locum teachers would continue to be a regulated activity; • Any work undertaken by a volunteer in a specified place where the work is supervised; • The work of officials of the Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) and their Welsh equivalents and the work of office-holders in various governance-related or senior management roles, for example a school governor, a local authority director of children’s services, and the Children’s Commissioner for England; • The w ork of inspectorates in England , for example inspectors of schools, children’s homes and childminding in England ; Inspection work by the Care Quality Commission; • The day-to-day management or supervision, on a regular basis, of any type of work referred to above that is removed from regulated activity; • Work that is a regulated activity solely because it takes place in a hospital and provides the opportunity for an individual to have contact with children; • Any activity specified in Part 1 of Schedule 4 to the SVGA (excluding the provision of health, personal or certain types of social care) if that activity is provided for or relates to children aged 16 or 17.

14. Changes to CRB system(subject to Parliament) • New, fully portable, CRB disclosures. Individuals can use one disclosure to apply for multiple jobs / volunteering posts • Employer checks online whether any new information on individual since date of disclosure. No need for “repeat checks” • Employer can sign up for alerts for new CRB or barred information • Employee must give consent for online checks • Individual applies for and keeps their certificate • CRB and ISA to merge

15. Timing of changes(subject to Parliament) Business as usual • Current arrangements will continue to at least 2012 • Current system of barring, referrals etc unchanged in the interim • New scope of RA, and portable CRB disclosures, to follow passing of Protection of Freedoms Bill and development of IT.

16. Activity As of 31 March 2011, the number of people on each of the barred lists was: The total number of people barred across both lists (as of March 2011) is 37,199. Please note that some people are on both lists. Referrals from employers and other organisations During the year April 2010 until March 2011 ISA received 5,361 referrals for consideration, averaging 446 referrals per month

17. Links www.isa-gov.org.uk www.homeoffice.gov.uk www.crb.homeoffice.gov.uk www.cqc.org.uk www.dh.gov.uk www.publications.parliament.uk www.essexsab.org.uk