Volunteer Criminal Disclosures PVG Scheme
This article is designed to give you very basic information on how Criminal Record Disclosures impact on you and your volunteers. Please note that this applies to Scotland only. If you need more specific or in-depth information you should contact Disclosure Services for further advice.
Contents
What is a Disclosure?
A Disclosure is a document containing impartial and confidential criminal history information held by the police and government departments which can be used by organisations to make safer recruitment decisions. Disclosure information could include:
- Details of criminal records.
- Information about a person's inclusion on children's or adults' barring lists.
- Other relevant information held by a local police force or government body.
- Or state that there is no information.
There are different types of disclosure provided by Disclosure Scotland: Basic disclosure, Standard disclosure, Enhanced disclosure and Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. For the involvement of volunteers not all of these levels of disclosure are appropriate or indeed available.
If your organisation is involving volunteers in Regulated Work then your volunteers will need to have membership of the appropriate PVG Scheme before they start to do that regulated work. It is a criminal offence for someone who is listed (barred) to do regulated work in the UK with the protected groups they are listed for. It is also a criminal offence for an organisation to knowingly employ a listed person to do that kind of regulated work.
What is the PVG Scheme?
The PVG (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) Scheme introduced tighter regulations on who may work or volunteer with vulnerable adults or children.
- People involved in Regulated Work must become members of the PVG Scheme.
- There are two barred lists that prevent people from working with vulnerable adults, children or both.
- Records are updated automatically.
- Any scheme member who moves to being barred or moves to being considered for barring will have that change of scheme status passed to all organisations that are attached to their scheme membership for the appropriate workgroup.
- Rather than completing a full disclosure for every new organisation, an update can be applied for which only details any changes since the previous Disclosure.
Disclosure for a Volunteer?
Disclosure is part of your duty of protection towards everyone in contact with your organisation. It is not a substitute for robust selection, good support and supervision structures or training programmes. Together with PVG membership (where appropriate), these provide a framework to ensure that any child or vulnerable adult in contact with your organisation is kept safe.
Careful consideration should be taken before deciding which volunteer roles will require PVG Membership. If it is not Regulated Work then you cannot apply for PVG Membership for that role. The process of disclosure takes time and this should be explained to your prospective volunteers to prevent it from becoming a barrier.
Application and cost
Disclosures via the PVG Scheme are provided with a fee waiver to voluntary organisations via Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services. This applies to volunteers only and Disclosures for paid staff have a cost associated to them[1].
Further Information
Online PVG Application Service (volunteerscotland.net): online applications can only be submitted using the online request form by groups enrolled with Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services. Groups enrolled with Disclosure Scotland should access checks in the appropriate manner.
Paper applications are available via Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services or Disclosure Scotland.
Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services make resources available for the voluntary sector to use as part of the disclosure process. These can be accessed atVolunteer Scotland | Help Make a Difference through Volunteering
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