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Vetting and Barring Scheme Guidance - March 2010

We are pleased to announce that full Guidance about the Scheme is now available for download.
This document contains details on:
  • The scope of the Scheme;
  • Barring arrangements;
  • Responsibilities and duties for both employers and volunteer organisers, and the duties for those employees and volunteers;
  • Timescales for the phased implementation of the Scheme;
  • Explanation of transitional arrangements around Scheme introduction.
The guidance also covers those areas where the Scheme does not apply and discusses the points raised by Sir Roger Singleton when he reported into the boundaries of the Scheme in December 2009.
This full guidance release will be followed by a suite of 'sector specific' guidance documents, which will show how the Scheme will be applied in different areas of work and volunteering activities.


Vetting and Barring Scheme Guidance - 12th October 2009

We are pleased to release the official Guidance in relation to the introduction of the initial phase of the Vetting & Barring Scheme (VBS).



ISA Referral Guidance

Guidance documents about the new duty from 12 October for employers and others to make referrals to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), and about the ISA Decision Making Process, are available on the ISA website:


ISA decision-making process guidance

The Independent Safeguarding Authority’s decision-making process is the method used by the ISA’s caseworkers and the ISA Board to decide whether it is appropriate that an individual should be barred from working with children or vulnerable adults. It includes the use of a Structured Judgment Process which will aid in determining whether an individual presents an unacceptable risk of harm to children and/or vulnerable adults.  It was developed by the Board of the ISA with specialist advice.  Guidance on the decision making process has now been published on the ISA’s website and can be found at


VBS Information Roadshow - powerpoint presentation now available

A Vetting & Barring Scheme (VBS) Information Roadshow was held in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on 29 June 2009. The Roadshow was delivered jointly by government departments responsible for delivery of the VBS across Northern Ireland, England and Wales; AccessNI, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). The presentation made at this event is now available to download.
If you have any questions on the ISA's Decision-Making Process, please contact the ISA at: info@isa.gsi.gov.ukLink to an external website


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:
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:


Consultation

A public consultation on the barring process was held in summer 2007. The results were published on 14 November 2007.
Also concluded was 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.
Both of these sets of results can be viewed at the link below:
This website will require registration.  This can be done by following the instructions at the above link.