Under the new plans more than nine million people working or volunteering with children and vulnerable adults will no longer need to register and be monitored by the state. The Vetting and Barring Scheme and criminal records regime are to be scaled back to common sense levels.
The government has proposed the following changes to the Vetting and Barring Scheme and criminal records regime:
- reducing the number of positions that need checks to just those working most closely and regularly with children and vulnerable adults
- letting criminal records checks be transferred between jobs to cut down on bureaucracy
- ending the requirement for those working or volunteering with vulnerable groups to register with the Vetting and Barring Scheme and then be continuously monitored by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)
- merging the Criminal Records Bureau and ISA to form a new body responsible for barring and criminal records checking
- stopping employers who knowingly request criminal records checks on individuals who are not entitled to them
The proposed changes are being made to the Protection of Freedoms bill, which subject to parliamentary approval is set to become effective in 2012.
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