Children’s vetting scheme to be scrapped

The BBC reports that the vetting scheme for people working with children and vulnerable adults in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has been halted. Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that registration, due to begin next month, has been put on hold. Instead there will be a review of the entire vetting and barring scheme. It is thought that the scheme will be scaled back.

The existing system of criminal record checks will be kept.

The main provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 can be seen on our website.  This Act provides the legislative framework for a new vetting and barring scheme for people who work with children and vulnerable adults. The purpose of the scheme was to minimise the risk of harm posed to children and vulnerable adults by those that might seek to harm them through their work (paid or unpaid). It seeks to do this by barring unsuitable individuals not just on the basis of referrals but also at the earliest possible opportunity as part of a centralised vetting process that all those working closely with children and/or vulnerable adults will need to go through.

However the Act was much criticised as being onerous on schools and other childcare institutions. Authors who visited schools to speak to children complained that they would have to undergo checks.  The writer would suggest this was not a major consideration.

Possibly the relaxation of the requirements under this Act is required, but of course this may be forgotten if there is a case involving a person working in a school, who is deemed to be “unsuitable” to work with children, and who then goes on to commit serious crimes. It is thought that the Act was a response to the Soham murders in 2002.