Services for Young Children

Government calls a 'halt' to the new Vetting and Barring Scheme

A statement from the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Theresa May released on Tuesday 15th May reads:

I am announcing today that the commencement of voluntary registration with the new Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which was due to begin on 26 July, will be brought to a halt as of today. The Government has made clear its intention to bring the criminal records and Vetting and Barring regimes back to common sense levels. Until this remodelling has taken place, we have decided to maintain those aspects of the new Scheme which are already in place, but not to introduce further elements.

Read the full statement from Theresa May

The new scheme, which would require all those working with children and vulnerable adults to register, was due to launch on 26th July.

Whilst the Scheme is being remodelled existing safeguarding regulations remain in force and should be adhered to. The following changes came into effect from 12th October 2009:

  • it is now a criminal offence for barred individuals to apply to work with children or vulnerable adults in a wider range of posts than previously. Employers also face criminal sanctions for knowingly employing a barred individual across a wider range of work;

  • the previous barring lists have been replaced by two new barred lists administered by the ISA rather than several Government departments. Now, checks of these two lists can be made as part of an Enhanced CRB/AccessNI check;

  • additional jobs and voluntary positions are covered by the new regulations, including moderators of children's internet chat rooms and large numbers of NHS and justice sector staff;

  • employers, local authorities, professional regulators and inspection bodies are now under a duty to refer to the ISA any information about an individual where they consider them to have caused harm or pose a risk of harm to vulnerable groups, such as why they stopped, or considered stopping, an individual working with vulnerable groups.

The terms of reference for the remodelling of the VBS and of the criminal records regime are currently being considered and a further announcement will be made in due course.

Further information is available on the ISA website