IDTA Vetting Scheme
CRB Disclosures
When Disclosures were concieved they were designed to provide organisations (this includes "sole traders") with a means of independently verifying an individual's response to the question "Do you have any criminal convictions?"
In order to protect the individual's rights, the organisation asking the question must have a legitimate reason for doing so and must have the individual's consent to verify their answer.
The main (only?) legitimate reason for asking the question is that the organisation wishes to place (or had already placed when the service was introduced) the subject of the check in a role where they will be acting on behalf of the organisation or with their endorsement.
Private individuals cannot use the scheme to check others, which includes parents wishing to place somebody in a role looking after their own children.
Offering a role fulfills another requirement, in that the requesting organisation has to have a some sanction that will prevent the subject undertaking such work on behalf of or with the endorsement of the organisation if the Disclosure is not satisfactory, i.e. they will not give them the role or endorsement.
Where the role includes access to children (or vulnerable adults), the Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) already allowed the organsisation to ask about spent convictions as well as unspent convictions, which could be checked for any role.
Consequently three levels of Disclosure are available,
- Basic - for any role
- Standard - for roles exempted from the RoA
- Enhanced - for roles exempted from the RoA that give access to children (or vulnerable adults)
To be eligible to ask for a Standard or Enhanced Disclosure the requesting organisation has to be offering a role, or endorsment to work in a role, that meets the criteria for the level of Disclosure requested. They also must have the power to deny the role or endorsement if the organisation considers that the information revealed on the Disclosure makes the subject unsuitable. Of course such a decision has to be made within the confines of current employment legislation, which requires that only relevant information is considered.
Basic Disclosures only contain unspent conviction information, which is not covered by any legislation restricting access to it like spent conviction information. Consequently an individual can apply for a Basic Disclosure for themselves. However, most organisations, including the UK Government, consider it bad practice to have the verification of an individual's answer to the question routed through that individual, so increasingly they require Basic Disclosures to be sent directly to the organisation. This requires that they have a legitimate reason for doing so, such as offering a role of some sort.
Currently Basic Disclosures are only available from Disclosure Scotland, though the CRB have recently restated their intent to issue them as well.
The Self Employed
Since the IDTA vetting scheme is primarily for working with children, we will limit the following to Enhanced Disclosures.
When Enhanced Dislosures were introduced there was no thought of people wanting to obtain one for themselves as they already know what would be on one. Nor did the original concept allow for organisations to ask an individual to produce their own Disclosure, like a licence, though in practice we know they do.
Indeed, you cannot apply for an Enhanced Disclosure solely at your own request. There has to be a 3rd party named on the application who will assess and potentilly act on anything revealed in the Disclosure.
Also, Disclosures are specifically non-displayable documents, as it would be unreasonable to expect somebody to display that they have an irrelevent (to the role) conviction so as to prove they do not have any relevant ones.
This leaves the self employed dance teacher in a difficult position, as they cannot offer the re-assurance that being CRB checked offers parents, nor can they display the fact when they are checked. Also, many venues require that the adults are CRB checked including the principal, though in most cases they do so wrongly (but it is easier to comply than to argue!)
The IDTA Vetting Scheme
The scheme is administered by DDC and introduced to provide self-employed members and school principals a means of obtaining a Disclosure.
Under the scheme the IDTA acts as a "regulator", endorsing scheme members to work with children & vulnerble adults.
In support of this the IDTA issue a certificate saying that the member was checked through the CRB or their PVG membership was confirmed and an interest registered. This certificate is displayable. (A PVG Scheme Membership Certificate is also displayable, though this is issued only once when the member joins, so will be come dated. A PVG Scheme Update is not displayable as this will say if any content has been added to the record - relevant to the role or not)
IDTA members wishing to join the vetting scheme (which is voluntary) are required to obtain an Enhanced Disclosure or PVG Scheme Membership Record/Update and any content on these will be evaluated by the IDTA.
If they consider any content indicates that the applicant presents an unacceptable risk to the good name of the IDTA, they will refuse to accept them as a member of the vetting scheme, thereby exercising their sanction.
Accepted members can have any number of IDTA certificates if they work in multiple locations, but ordering at least one is required. The certificate is valid for 3 years.
Costs
To join the IDTA Vetting Scheme costs £15.00 + VAT plus the cost of the CRB check (£44) or, for members teaching in Scotland, the PVG Scheme membership (£59).
Where a member in Scotland is already a PVG Scheme member, we only need to apply for a PVG Scheme Update (£18) provided the most recent PVG Scheme Record can be produced.
If the most recent PVG Scheme Record cannot be produced or the Update shows that something was added to the Record since it was issued, we will need to obtain a new Record at a cost of £59. (Note : if the application for a new Record is made within 30 days of our receiving an Update indicating that new vetting information is available, the fee is reduced to £41.)
This does not include the cost of the certificate(s) issued by the IDTA.
Members wishing to have their own staff (non IDTA members) checked through the CRB or join the PVG Scheme should register with DDC as now and the same fees will apply.
As now, Disclosure Scotland will not charge for volunteers provided that they apply through the Central Registered Body (not DDC). At present it is unclear whether somebody who joins the PVG scheme as a volunteer will be charged retrospectively if they use their registration for a paid role (as they would have under the ISA scheme)
How to join the IDTA Vetting Scheme
Telephone DDC (o845 644 3298) with your contact details or e-mail the information to idta@ddc.uk.net