Greater protection for vulnerable groups
26 Sep 06
Bill adds to safeguards for vulnerable adults through single vetting and barring agency
More efficient measures to prevent unsuitable people working with children and protected adults are among the provisions set out today in the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill.
The bill extends the protection given to children and introduces new protections for vulnerable adults by taking forward the key recommendation of Sir Michael Bichard's report following the Soham tragedy.
It builds on existing legislation, particularly the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act of 2003 and Part V of the Police Act of 1997, and closes operational loopholes in the current vetting arrangements.
A single executive agency will be formed to support the new vetting and barring scheme. It will bring together Disclosure Scotland, which will undertake the vetting function, and the Central Barring Unit, which will bar those who are not considered suitable.
The main points of the bill are:
- a list of those disqualified from working with vulnerable adults;
- extension of the current disqualified from working with children list;
- continuous updating of the barred lists to alert employers if new information about an employee comes to light that may indicate that he or she has become unsuitable for working with vulnerable groups;
- a Central Barring Unit to assess whether someone should be placed on one, or both, lists;
- individual statements of barred status - allowing private tutors, for example, to prove they are not disqualified from working with children;
- duties and powers for agencies to share information about children who they believe may be at risk.
Deputy Education Minister Robert Brown said: "This bill will help to ensure that people who should not be around children or vulnerable adults cannot access them through work.
"Many of the organisations and the workforces which fall within the scope of the provisions are now familiar with vetting and disclosure, and the current aspects which give rise to frustration will be remedied by the new scheme.
"It will greatly reduce the current burden on employees and employers to do multiple disclosure checks when, for example, someone changes jobs or takes on voluntary work."
The minister said he was confident the reduction in multiple checks would mean overall costs will not rise, and that the Executive would continue to meet the costs of checks for volunteers.
The bill is based on recommendation 19 of the Bichard Inquiry Report which calls for all those who wish to work with children or vulnerable adults to be registered.
The report made 31 recommendations in total, many of which only had direct relevance to England and Wales. All of the recommendations with relevance for Scotland have either been put in place already or are in progress towards full implementation.