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Better safeguards for vulnerable groups
01/11/2007
A better system of protection for children and vulnerable groups will be available when Scotland implements a new vetting and barring scheme, the Parliament was told today.
The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act established the new framework and principles for strengthening the protection of children and protected adults from those who would do them harm.
Secondary legislation is required to put the new vetting and barring scheme in place.
The scheme will:
- build on what has been learned from the current system
- quickly identify and respond to people who become unsuitable during their employment
- end the need for multiple disclosure checks
- enable individual records to be updated as and when people change jobs or volunteer or when new, relevant information is referred to the scheme
Announcing the publication of the consultation exercise on the new system to check the suitability of those seeking to work with and care for vulnerable groups, Minister for Children and Early Years Adam Ingram said:
"I believe a reliable, robust, strengthened vetting and barring scheme will help safeguard children and protected adults.
"We must ensure that people who are unsuitable do not gain access to children or protected adults through work, either paid or unpaid, and that those who become unsuitable are detected early and prevented from continuing to work.
"Tragedies such as Soham occur because there are a small number of unscrupulous people in positions of responsibility who betray the trust we place in them.
"The Protection of Vulnerable Groups Act and the new vetting scheme reinforces Scotland's commitment to the recommendation of the Bichard Inquiry into the Soham murders.
"I welcome ongoing discussion on how we take the scheme forward and encourage those with an interest to respond to this consultation."
The consultation paper published today sets out for consideration the detail of the new scheme. The options seek to strike the right balance between the proportionate protection of vulnerable groups and the need to ensure the privacy rights of individuals are not unduly compromised.
The scheme covers those in either paid employment or voluntary work. It aims to reduce bureaucracy and streamline the disclosure process and deliver a fair and consistent system that will be easy for people to understand and use.
The consultation period ends on February 12, 2008, and the vetting and barring scheme is planned to go live in 2009.
The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 aims to ensure that:
- those who have a history of behaviour that indicates they are unsuitable to work with children or protected adults are prevented from doing so and those who become unsuitable are quickly removed from such work
- employers have an improved tool to assess suitability and make safe and informed recruitment and retention decisions
- the Scheme is fair, consistent and easy for people to understand and use
- the underlying processes are as streamlined, responsive and efficient as possible
- the Scheme dovetails with arrangements in the rest of the UK to ensure that cross-border loopholes do not develop which could be exploited by those who would harm children and protected adults