Resource Library
Legislation
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 puts in place a new system for checking persons seeking to work with children or vulnerable adults, and for barring those considered to be unsuitable for such posts, whether in paid employment or voluntary work. Similar legislation, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, is in place for England and Wales.
Full details of the Order and Act are available on the Office of Public Sector Information website:
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20071351_en_1
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/ukpga_20060047_en_1
The Order will be implemented in Northern Ireland by a number of pieces of secondary legislation and each Statutory Rule will be added to this website when it is made. To date the following secondary legislation has been made:
- The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (2007 Order) (Commencement No. 1) Order (Northern Ireland) 2008
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/sr/sr2008/nisr_20080127_en_1
- The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Transitional Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2008
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/sr/sr2008/nisr_20080200_en_1
- The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Prescribed Criteria) (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/sr/sr2008/nisr_20080201_en_1
- The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Barring Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/sr/sr2008/nisr_20080203_en_1
- The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Barred List Prescribed Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/sr/sr2008/nisr_20080202_en_1
- The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (2007 Order) (Commencement No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2008
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/sr/sr2008/nisr_20080233_en_1
Consultation
A public consultation on the barring process was held in summer 2007. The results were published on 14 November 2007 at:
We have also recently concluded a second, wide-ranging, formal consultation on implementation of the scheme. The consultation closed on 20 February 2008 and the results were published on 30 May 2008 at: