This is an update to the message published here in September
2008.
Since 31 March 2008, as part of transition to the new Vetting
and Barring Scheme (starting October 2009), the Independent
Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has advised the Secretaries of State
at the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the
Department of Health on barring (List 99, PoCA, PoVA in England and
Wales).
On 11th September, we gave early
notice to stakeholders that, in the next stage of transition,
employers in England and Wales (under PoCA or PoVA), and
employers in England (under List 99) would – subject to
Parliamentary approval - have to send new referrals under these
schemes to the ISA, which will take the barring
decisions. (For List 99 in Wales, and for NI, see links
which will appear below.) Where the ISA asks organisations
for information on a case, they must provide it.
On 6th November, the Government
specified in a regular DCSF email to all Local Authorities in
England that – still subject to Parliamentary approval - the
planned date for the ISA to start decision-making, as detailed
above, would be in January 2009.
Now, since Parliamentary approval for key
elements of the necessary legislation was completed on
17th December 2008, we confirm that the Government plans
for ISA decision-making to start from Tuesday
20th January 2009.
In January 2009, in the week commencing
12th January, the Government plans to publicise (in a
regular DCSF email to all Local Authorities in England, and in
equivalent publications from DH to health and social care
stakeholders) details of the new address to which those with a duty
to refer under the List 99, PoCA and PoVA schemes should send new
referrals made on or after 20th January. The
referral address will also be publicised on this web-site, along
with revised guidance to those with a duty to refer.
We recommended in September that organisations should act in
good time to: cascade our earlier message within
their sector(s), so employers can prepare in time; and
remind employers to fulfil existing pre-employment
responsibilities, e.g. taking up references and conducting
checks.
Further details can be found here:
How
ISA Decision Making affects those in the children's services
sector
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