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The Independent Safeguarding Authority – your new legal duties
11 June 2009
The new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) was created
following the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and is set to
completely revolutionise how employers in the care sector recruit
their staff. Dai Durbridge, one of our care sector specialist
solicitors, considers how the ISA is already impacting upon the
care sector and what the future holds for employers.
Strong safeguards to protect children and vulnerable adults were
set out recently by the Government, ahead of the launch of the
Vetting and Barring Scheme in October this year. Additional
safeguards will include the creation of two new barred lists
administered by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) to
replace the existing 3 lists, the broadening of the scope of a bar
to cover all ‘regulated activities’ and the introduction of a new
criminal offence for a barred individual to seek work with
vulnerable groups; and for employers to knowingly take them on.
However, these changes are relatively minor compared to the
fundamental change that was scheduled to begin in October 2009.
Currently, if a person wants to work in the care sector, the
government is happy for them to do so as long as their name does
not appear on any of the lists referred to above. In the future,
those who want to work with children or vulnerable adults have to
be approved in advance and be listed on a register before their
employment could begin. This process was due to start in October
2009 and it has been estimated that around 13 million people will
be affected.
However, the ISA has said that the beginning of the registration
process has been delayed and will not now begin until next summer.
From 26 July 2010, all new entrants to roles working regularly with
vulnerable groups and those switching jobs to a new provider within
these sectors, should register with the ISA and be checked. This
applies to those in the care sector. The legal requirement for
employees to register with the ISA, and employers to check their
status will come into force in November 2010.
Registration of the entire workforce with the ISA will be phased
in over five years from July 2010. The first individuals to
register should be those joining the workforce for the first time
or moving to a post with a new provider. The second tranche will be
members of the workforce who have never had a CRB Disclosure or
have not had one for a number of years and who do not change posts.
Clearly, this new duty will impact significantly on private care
providers and now is the time to start planning how your
organisation will manage the change. Guidance is due in September
2009 with sector specific guidance intended to follow soon
after.
Importantly, there is a one-off application fee of £64 when
applying for registration with the Scheme. The fee is composed of
two elements: £28 to fund the running of the ISA and £36 to pay for
the CRB Enhanced Disclosure. It is hoped that where there is no
information on an individual (the position on 90% of applications)
the results will come through within one week. If there is
information to be gathered and considered by the ISA, the check
will take longer and thus could impact on your staffing levels.
There is a real risk that this massive undertaking for those in
the care sector could cause logistic and legal difficulties. To
minimise those we advise that organisations and individuals in the
care sector begin to factor the ISA-registration process into their
forward planning immediately. If you have an HR department, then
those staff should be made aware of the Scheme and the legal
requirements surrounding ISA-registration. Remember that from
November 2010 employing someone in your establishment without
ensuring they are registered will be a criminal offence. Where the
employer is an organisation, this offence is committed by both the
organisation, and by any manager who is either complicit or
reckless.
For training or advice on your new duties from October 2009
onwards and for further information on the impact the ISA will have
on the care sector, please contact our specialist team.
talk to us
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of aspects of the subject matter and does not provide comprehensive
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