ISA

Latest documents and UNISON guidance can be found by clicking this link. http://www.unison.org.uk/prru/isa.asp

Vetting and Barring Scheme - Home Office Guidance

The Home Office has now published the full statutory guidance on the Vetting and Barring Scheme (1st edition, March 2010) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Click on this link http://www.isa-gov.org.uk/PDF/VBS_Guidance_20091102.pdf

This guidance includes detailed information on the scope of the Vetting and Barring Scheme, how the Scheme will affect employees, volunteers and providers/employers and the timetable for implementation.

Some key points are included below for your information:

Changes to scheme following Sir Roger Singleton’s report

Ed Balls, the Children's Secretary, ordered Sir Roger Singleton, chairman of the Independent Safeguarding Authority to review how the Vetting and Barring scheme defines “frequent and intensive” contact with children. On 14 December 2009, Sir Roger Singleton’s report Drawing the Line was published. On the same day, the Government published its own response which has resulted in several amendments to the Scheme.

For staff working in health and social care, the frequency test for those who are giving personal care (i.e. hands-on/intimate care; having access to a service user’s personal finances) will be defined as once a month or more. For other staff, the frequency and intensiveness test has been amended to: frequently (once a week or more), intensively (on four days or more in a single month) or overnight.

The Government is planning a separate review of ‘controlled activity’. We anticipate that this will be consulted on prior to the General Election.

Greater clarification has been given regarding certain circumstances where the Scheme does not apply i.e. if a parent arranges for their child to be looked after by a friend or relative (See Section 2 of the guidance).

The Barring process

Once you are registered with the ISA, you will be provided with a unique ISA registration number and you will be continuously monitored. If the ISA receives new information about you (for example, because you have committed an offence), your registration may be reconsidered. The ISA will only consider information which suggests that you might pose a risk of harm to vulnerable groups. If and when the ISA reaches the stage that it is ‘minded to bar’, it will contact you to tell you why you are under investigation, and share all information it has received. It will also tell your employer. You will then have eight weeks to make representations in writing.

If you fail to make representations during the statutory period, the bar will be confirmed. However, if the ISA is unable to locate you and proceeds to bar you, it may reactivate the representations process later, if it locates you.

There will be a right to seek an appeal in the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal (or, where appropriate, the Care Tribunal in Northern Ireland) but currently you can only appeal on points of law or findings of fact. Under the existing legislation the only way to challenge the appropriateness of a decision is via a judicial review. UNISON is pushing the ISA and government to put in place an appeals process which will consider appeals on all facts, including appropriateness.

Further guidance on handling ISA cases and supporting members will be published by UNISON’s Professional Registration and Representation Unit.

Online status check

Your employer will be able to check your ISA registration status online. You must consent to the check and give them your unique Scheme reference number to enable it. Your employer may also subscribe to receive updates if your registration status changes.

Timetable

The Scheme began in October 2009 with the implementation of the ISA’s new barred lists. ISA registration begins in July 2010 for people taking up new roles – paid or voluntary – becoming mandatory in November 2010.

Where staff or volunteers are already involved in regulated activity, employers must check that they are all ISA registered by 25 July 2015. It will be up to each employer to manage this process for their organisation – but it is likely that staff without an existing disclosure will be targeted first, followed by those with an older disclosure.

UNISON campaign

UNISON continues to lobby government and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) to:

• Make it mandatory for employers to pay for the registration fee for the scheme rather than it being borne by the applicant

• Prevent duplication of regulatory mechanisms that would lead to over-regulation, particularly for those already on a relevant professional register

• Ensure that everyone has the right to a fair hearing and appeal

A TUC coalition, led by UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis, has met with Home Office Minister, Meg Hillier and UNISON continues to meet with government officials and the Department of Health to make progress on these key areas of concern. UNISON is also having ongoing discussions with the ISA regarding the duplication of regulation and right to a fair hearing.

April 2010

Independent Safeguarding Authority

The government announced on 1 April 2007 that the new Independent Safeguarding Authority will ‘go live’ from October 2009 and that it will cost £64 for staff to register. All staff working directly with children will be required to register.

The authority has been established to create a single system of identifying and preventing unsuitable people working with children and vulnerable adults. It will replace existing protection lists and it is anticipated that it will cover 11.3 million people workers and volunteers.

Its remit will cover all staff in specified workplaces, which includes schools. The authority will have a panel of independent experts who will make decisions on barring staff from working. We are seeking further details on how this and any appeals process will operate.

The legislation places the obligation of registration and payment on the individual employee. However in most cases we are anticipating that the employer will meet the cost of registration.

UNISON has expressed surprise at the cost of registration and the impact this could have, particularly for lower paid staff. We believe it is unfair that there is no banded payment structure based on salary. In many cases it will be those least able to pay that will have to pay the registration fee themselves, particularly in the PVI sector.

We believe it may create recruitment difficulties in some sectors as job applicants will require ISA registration before they can apply for a job in a registered setting.

There is no registration fee for volunteers and the payment is a one-off lifetime registration fee.

For more information please see the UNISON professional services page.

http://www.unison.org.uk/professionalservices/

http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/B4283.pdf