28/11/2017
DBS set to take over basic disclosure checks for England and Wales (E, S, W)
The Disclosure and Barring Service* has boosted staffing levels in readiness for taking over the provision of all basic disclosure checks (also known as basic CRB checks) for individuals in England and Wales from 1 January 2018 – a service previously provided by Disclosure Scotland.
The basic check is the lowest level of disclosure. It searches for any unspent criminal convictions, is not job specific and is available for individuals, as well as enabling organisations to check on the criminal records of their job applicants.
DBS started providing basic checks on 1 September, but only for a small number of registered organisations. Disclosure Scotland will continue to provide the service for individuals and employers throughout a transition period that ends on 1 January 2018.
From that date, all individuals who need a basic check for a job in England or Wales, will need to apply to the DBS. Anyone needing a check for a job in Scotland will need to apply to ‘Disclosure Scotland’.
Applicants to the DBS will be able to use a new online application route to be launched later this year. Alternatively, they will be able to use 3rd parties registered with DBS and known as ‘Responsible Organisations’.
‘DBS checks: guidance for employers’ provides an overview of the entire process. ‘Basic check guidance and policies’ focuses on documentation, for individuals and responsible organisations, related to the submission and processing of basic checks.
The DBS is also currently in the process of introducing new ‘ID checking guidelines for DBS check applications’ that relate to all applications by organisations for standard or enhanced checks on potential employees.
The new guidelines align the DBS’s check processes with ‘right to work’ checks that aim to help prevent illegal working by checking people’s documents before employing them. They will run in parallel with the existing guidelines until 25 January 2018, when the existing guidelines will cease to apply.
* The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaced the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).
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