healthcare update - issue 15
The vetting and barring scheme - over before it began?
Home Secretary Theresa May announced on 15 June 2010 that the
Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) registration process,
which was due to start on 26 July 2010, is to be put on hold until
the scope of the system is reviewed. The future of recruitment and
monitoring requirements for staff and volunteers in the children
and vulnerable adults sectors is once again uncertain.
What is the vetting and barring scheme?
The vetting and barring scheme was created in response to Sir
Michael Bichard’s report into the Soham murders in 2002. The report
recommended a single scheme to monitor and bar those working with
children and vulnerable adults. Nine million people are thought to
be caught by the scheme, reduced from 11 million following a review
under the previous government in December 2009.
Why is the vetting and barring scheme being
reviewed?
The new scheme has a very wide scope. It is extremely difficult
to identify when an individual has to be registered. This lack of
clarity could lead to severe criminal sanctions for both the
individual and to the person allowing him to work, or volunteer, if
they mistakenly did not follow registration procedures
correctly.
As a result of these concerns, Mrs May announced the review,
referring to current measures as “draconian” and adding that the
new coalition government aimed to cut them back to “common sense
levels”. It remains to be seen what this means in practical terms
and in what timescale the review will be completed.
Does the review go far enough?
The consensus view is that the scope of the new scheme is too
wide, catching too many people. However, the management of the
information held by the ISA, and its role in barring individuals,
also requires review. A failure automatically to tell employers
when their staff are barred, and an extremely low threshold for
when employers are under a legal obligation to refer conduct to the
ISA, are of serious concern to employers. If a review of the
process is to be undertaken at all, then a full and thorough review
of all aspects of the ISA’s role is in order. It is disappointing
that the government’s plans do not suggest a more complete
review.
What next?
We now await the outcome of that review, a process which is
likely to take a few months. In the meantime, the government has
confirmed that the present system will remain in place.
talk to us
save to PDF
The content of this update is provided for the purposes of
general interest and information. It contains only brief summaries
of aspects of the subject matter and does not provide comprehensive
statements of the law. It does not constitute legal advice and does
not provide a substitute for it.