Vetting and Barring Scheme registration on hold

Registration with the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) has been put on hold to allow a UK government review to be carried out, it was announced today.

Voluntary registration with the VBS for new employees and job-movers working or volunteering with children and vulnerable adults was due to start on 26 July 2010.

The scheme is designed to protect children and vulnerable adults by stopping those who pose a known risk from gaining access to them through their work.

Acknowledging the impact the review would have on the start of voluntary registration with VBS in Northern Ireland, the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Michael McGimpsey said: “The Vetting and Barring Scheme extends across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and will work very closely with an equivalent Scheme in Scotland.

“We in Northern Ireland are part of this Scheme, to increase safeguards and reduce the risk of abuse to children and vulnerable adults in Northern Ireland.

“In the course of the review, we will ensure that the views of our local stakeholders are taken into account and that our high standards of safeguarding already in place are not compromised in any way.”

Department of Justice Minister, David Ford, whose department is responsible for AccessNI, the body which would have taken on the role of registering workers in Northern Ireland with the VBS, said: "While registration is on hold, AccessNI will continue to provide disclosure certificates for those working with the most vulnerable.

“In addition, my officials will work with those in the Home Office to ensure that the review of the criminal records regime meets the specific circumstances in Northern Ireland".

Notes to editors:

1. The Vetting and Barring Scheme was designed as a response to the Bichard enquiry into the Soham murders by Ian Huntley which called for better information sharing by police and vetting organisations.

2. The Scheme will be delivered by the Independent Safeguarding Authority, (ISA) the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and AccessNI and overseen by the Home Office. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive, is leading on implementation of the VBS in Northern Ireland.

3. While the timing and scope of requirements on individuals to register with the Scheme will depend on the outcome of the review, the following requirements, which came into effect in October last year, remain in place:

• It is now a criminal offence for barred individuals to apply to work with children or vulnerable adults in a wider range of posts than previously. Employers also face criminal sanctions for knowingly employing a barred individual across a wider range of work;
• the previous barring lists, for example those established under the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (NI) Order 2003, are replaced by the creation of two new barred lists administered by the ISA rather than several Government departments. Since October 2009, checks of these two lists can be made as part of an Enhanced Disclosure check through AccessNI;
• additional jobs and voluntary positions are covered by the barring arrangements, including moderators of children's internet chat rooms, and a large number of NHS staff; and
• employers, health and social care trusts, education and library boards, professional regulators and inspection bodies have a duty to refer to the ISA any information on an individual working with the vulnerable where they consider them to have caused harm or pose a risk.

4. This next stage of implementation of VBS has been put on hold pending a review which aims to scale back the scheme to common sense levels. The new Coalition government set out its intention to conduct a review of the VBS and the criminal records regime in May 2010 in its Programme for Government.

5. The scope of the review, which is being coordinated by the Home Office, is currently being finalised. The review is expected to take around three months and will include consultation with professional organisations working with children and vulnerable adults.

6. More than 66,000 employers, charities and voluntary groups across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are now being informed directly of the change.

7. The latest information on the VBS can be found at online

8. For all media enquiries call the Home Office Press Office on 020 7035 3535.