The new Government has finally published its reports on the ISA and CRB procedures with recommendations for reforming the ISA/CRB Safeguarding processes that the last Government was rolling out.
The net result is that they have opted for a radically scaled back ’employment vetting scheme’. At the same time they are revising the CRB Checking scheme.
The major factor in these changes is that they are scrapping the ISA monitored Registers. They will be retaining the Barring Lists, one for ‘children’ and on for vulnerable persons. To compensate for the loss of this scheme they are intending to change the regulations surrounding CRB Checks. The detail of how these changes will work is not yet clear, but they will be centered around who may and who must apply for a check and who may view the disclosures. The Home Office report indicates that CRB checks will become more the concern of the individual being checked, rather than an Employer or Sponsoring Body as per the current regulations. This will mean that the CRB Disclosure will become ‘portable’ and if it is recent and acceptable to a new employer then it will not be necessary to carry out another check. Again how this will work is not yet clear and for many large and public Employers it may change little from existing practice.
So how will this effect the NCH and it’s membership?
Firstly we will be changing the Codes of Ethics and Practice to remove the requirement to register with the ISA. But as we expect that any employer that may take on a member in a Healthcare role will require a CRB check, we will be retaining the CRB check and Certification Scheme, which may become a requirement. With the introduction of portability for CRB checks you will be one jump ahead if you have a current CRB Certificate with your membership when you apply for a Healthcare Post.
Secondly we will be maintaining a link with the new body that they are developing with the merger of the ISA and the CRB Office. This will be necessary as while we retain a Disciplinary Process there will be a legal duty for us to report certain categories of “offending”. Again as the regulations change this may change. But as a membership function we will retain the ability to check applicants with the Barring Lists to verify new member’s bona fides.
The projected dates for these changes to come into effect is early 2012. Between now and then as more detail is revealed and we come to understand how these changes effect the NCH and its Membership we will let you know.