The Government’s new Vetting and Barring Scheme came into force on Monday 12th October 2009. The scheme introduces new criminal offences for individuals and organisations who fail to comply with the new legislation.

The changes come as a result of Sir Michael Bichard’s report into the Soham murders, and will affect people who work with children and vulnerable adults.

The legal foundations for the new system were laid in 2006, when the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act was passed. After a series of delays, the system will become fully operational in July 2010, with the range of sanctions for non-compliance being applicable from November 2010.

The legislation that came into force on Monday covers the following topics:

• It is now a criminal offence for barred individuals to undertake or seek to undertake work with children or vulnerable adults.
• Knowingly appointing a barred individual either as a paid employee or as a volunteer will also be a criminal offence.
• Employers whose business involves children or vulnerable adults now have a new legal duty to pass on full details to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) if a person in their business acts in a way that suggests they should not be working with children or vulnerable adults. Typically, the individual concerned will have been dismissed by their employer following an investigation, and the information uncovered in the investigation will have to be handed on to the ISA.
• Two new barring lists will be maintained by the ISA, replacing the old Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) list, the Protection of Children Act and List 99. There is now one list for people banned from working with children, and another for those barred from working with vulnerable adults.
• People on either of the barred lists are now prohibited from undertaking a much broader range of activities than previously. They are barred from any activity that is counted under law as a “Regulated Activity”.

It is hoped that the new system will both streamline the regulatory process and make it more difficult for unsuitable individuals to come into contact with children and vulnerable adults through their work.

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