As of 1 December 2012 the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) as we know it will be a thing of the past, as it merges with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) to form the all new Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

The creation of the DBS comes as a direct result of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which for the first time established a joint service to combine both the criminal records and barring functions.

Despite the merger of the two independent organisations, the delivery of the service currently provided by the CRB will not be altered by the merger. The CRB are keen to reassure their customers that business will continue as normal during this transition.

For the main, the transition will be an exercise in rebranding, with few physical changes to the infrastructure of either the CRB or the ISA. There will of course be a new DBS logo, along with minor changes to the application form and the clearance certificate customers receive. The website will also receive a slight revamp, with a change to some of the language used both on and offsite.

If you require any further information about the forthcoming changes then the Criminal Records Bureau section of the Home Office’s official website will keep you up to date with everything you need to know.

Alternatively, here at CB Screening we aim to keep you fully informed of any changes you should be aware of, so check in at our regularly updated blog for all the latest developments. 

The Criminal Records Bureau has recently commissioned a survey by a leading research company to build up accurate and timely information about the level of their customers’ satisfaction. This is the most recent in a long line of research programmes designed to keep the CRB fully informed about the behaviour of their customers, with registered and umbrella bodies contacted by an independent research company by phone between February and March 2012 and asked a series of questions.

The primary aim of the CRB is to provide a high level of service that protects children and vulnerable adults from individuals who are being recruited into a position of care. It is only by carrying out independent research in this way that the Criminal Records Bureau can measure whether they are achieving this objective.

This year’s research showed that:

• 92% of CRB applicants were satisfied with the level of service they received, whilst 62% were very satisfied;
• Over eight out of ten recipients were pleased with their CRB check turnaround time;
• 89% of applicants believed the CRB was having a positive influence on the protection vulnerable adults and children receive in the UK;
• More than nine out of ten organisations admitted that CRB checks improve their ability to protect vulnerable adults;
• In the past ten years over 151,000 unsuitable people have been prevented from securing employment in a role which supports vulnerable adults or children.

These results are an extremely positive sign for the Criminal Records Bureau, showing that the service they currently provide is highly valued by their customers and meets or surpasses their expectations in the majority of cases. A copy of the full research report is available on the Home Office website.

The rules regarding CRB checks have changed in regard to financial and legal positions. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) or someone working on their behalf is now permitted to acquire a Standard CRB checks on individuals who apply to carry out the business of a Payment Institution. If you are unfamiliar with the term Payment Institution, they are a new type of payment service which was formed out of the Services Regulations 2009, and provide services for individuals such as remitting money from the UK to other countries and credit payment and direct debit services.

The new Payment Institutions are to be regulated by the FSA, with part of their remit to include an assessment of whether individuals that wish to provide such services are fit to do so. An important element of this assessment will take the form of standard CRB checks. The positions involved in payment institutions which fall under this remit, include:

• Directors and managers
• Holders of qualifying holdings
• Those responsible for the management and control of payment institutions

Legal Positions

Part 5 of the Legal Services Act which came into fruition back in 2007 created new firms which could provide legal and non-legal services known as alternative business structures.

Within these new firms a number of certain statutory positions have been created, known as the ‘Head of Legal Practice’ and the ‘Head of Finance and Administration’. These positions are responsible for the firm’s compliance with relevant regulations.

Those individuals who hold a restricted interest in such firms are by virtue of their chare interest or voting rights for example, will be subject to a statutory ‘fit and proper person’ test which will include standard CRB checks to determine the presence of prior convictions or cautions.

Currently taxi and private hire vehicle drivers are eligible for standard Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. These disclose all spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings.  The exceptions are drivers who are on a contract to transport children and/or vulnerable adults. These drivers are within regulated activity, and therefore eligible for enhanced CRB checks.

However, licensing authorities have for some years been applying for (and receiving) enhanced CRB checks for all drivers. These disclose everything that is visible on a standard check, as well as relevant non-conviction information held by local police forces and, where appropriate, details of the person's inclusion in an Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) barred list.

The Government decided to tighten up on this in 2011, such as to provide only standard checks when this represented the limit of somebody's eligibility.  This led to representations from a number of quarters, including the Mayor of London, Transport for London and the Local Government Group (representing licensing authorities outside London).

In response, Home Office officials met representatives from the sector to discuss the issues.  Following Home Affairs Committee (HAC) clearance to proceed with this policy, Home Office Ministers have now agreed to:

• Make all taxi and private hire vehicle drivers eligible for enhanced criminal records (CRB) checks; and
• Allow licensing authorities to obtain information as to whether an applicant is on a barred list. Licensing authorities would retain the discretion to offer employment to a barred person if they chose.
• This reflects consultation indicating that due to methods of working, many drivers could find themselves allocated to work with children or vulnerable adults.

Frequently Asked Questions:

The second and final stage of the Criminal Records Regime review has been completed and submitted to Ministers. The second phase of the review focuses on how criminality information is stored and shared and makes a number of recommendations relating to the administration of criminal records. One such recommendation is that the Police National Computer (PNC) should continue to be the central repository for criminal records for the foreseeable future. 
 
Government response to the review

The Government has responded positively to the vast majority of the recommendations made. Its formal response sets out which of the recommendations made are now before Parliament in the Protection of Freedoms Bill.  
The Bill contains proposals including:

• Strengthening the test of relevance applied by a chief officer;
• Ceasing CRB checks on under 16s;
• Issuing the certificate to the applicant only to allow them the opportunity to review any information included prior before the CRB check certificate is shown to the employer, and introducing a new provision to allow the applicant to request a review of information released by a chief officer;
• The implementation of online status checks, enabling certificates to be reused for different employers across the same sector, instead of requesting a new certificate every time applicants apply for a new role.

In addition the Government will uphold arrangements for holding criminal records on the Police National Computer, in a bid to ensure that security controls on accessing records are strong.

A reform of the CRB vetting process has been announced as part of the Government’s review of the Vetting and Barring Scheme. The new scaled back employment vetting scheme comes as a result of The Protection of Freedoms Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament. Part of this proposal, if passed, will see the Independent Safeguarding Authority and the Criminal Records Bureau join together to become a single entity known as the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).   

The new organisation will be responsible for delivering the services currently provided by both the CRB and the Independent Safeguarding Authority. It is yet to be decided who will run the outsourced organisation, although the Home Office have already issued a tender to do so.

The services themselves offered by the new Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) are to be reformed, with the introduction of a new, portable disclosure service one measure which is expected be introduced.

The date for the DBS to come into being has been set for November 2012, although this may change in accordance with Parliamentary Timetabling. Employees of both the CRB and the Independent Safeguarding Authority will be relieved to hear that neither body will have to relocate as part of the merger.

As further information is released about the implications of the Disclosure and Barring Service on the CRB, here at CB Screening we will endeavour to keep you fully up to date.   

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is soon to be launching a new online status checking service for employers.  The service will be used to vet potential employees and verify that they have CRB clearance for certain jobs.  Part of the CRB process requires people to request a new certificate when applying for a new job, but the online system will save them from this process and make checks easier for employers.  CRB checks are in place to validate those working with vulnerable people and are required for anybody working with children, disabled people, and other similar roles.    

Lynne Featherstone, the criminal information minister, announced the new system amongst other new measures.  These measures are to be introduced following a review carried out by the Government’s independent advisor Sunita Mason.  In a statement made to Parliament, Featherstone said that the introduction of the online service would reduce the amount of paperwork and bureaucracy in many CRB processes.  

Featherstone said "We have included a provision to make the CRB process less burdensome on all concerned by introducing a new, online status checking capability that will in effect mean individuals can re-use their certificates for different employers across the same workforce and so will no longer need to apply for a new certificate every time they want to take up a new role," she said. "This will have a positive impact on business, making it significantly easier for employers to take on staff in relevant sectors."

A Home Office spokesman was unable at this time to offer any further information about the way the system would work.

Other features of the Protection of Freedoms bill are listed below:

• Ensuring that only accurate and relevant personal data will ever be disclosed by the police.
• Applicants will have the opportunity to review their personal data and if necessary, dispute any information held about them by the police before it is disclosed to a potential employer
• Significantly reducing the range of ‘regulated activity’ from which people could be barred.

The Government did not accept Mason’s request for a significant reduction in the number of individuals eligible for checks.

An announcement has also been made by the Home Office stating that the Government will continue to maintain the current agreements for holding criminal records on the police national computer.  They would also ensure that sufficiently strong controls were in place for accessing these records.

CBS expect to receive further information regarding processes and the practical effects it will bring to those who access the CRB Disclosure Service.  As always, CBS provide first line customer support to all clients regarding regulatory and legislative advice and would be pleased to discuss this in greater detail on request.

Following the recent customer feedback from our clients, we would like to thank you very much for taking the time to complete our recent survey.  We have processed all of the data received and are extremely pleased with the results received. Addressing any issues raised by our clients and providing excellent customer service is paramount to the success of our organisation.

The results of survey were as follows:

100%   Agree CBS Staff are friendly and helpful

98%    Agree CBS Provide excellent customer service

97%    Agree CBS provide an invaluable service to their business

99%    Would recommend the services to CBS

42%    Requested further information regarding the additional services CBS provide.

Any organisations wishing to receive further information regarding the services provided by our organisation please email rachelb@cbscreening.com or contact our office on 01443 799900.

12%    Suggested ways for CBS to improve their current services.

CBS have written to all clients who provided feedback regarding suggestions for CBS to improve services and would like to address the most commonly raised points:


Point 1:    Additional support for first time users of the system

In relation to this point CBS are currently addressing the guidelines documents issued at the point of registration and also liaising with our IT Department in order to introduce help buttons on the online system.  Additionally, we would like to reiterate our commitment to first line customer support and would encourage all clients to contact us via telephone where we would be pleased to walk you through the process and provide any required guidance.


Point 2:    Employer to receive hard copies of criminal certificates

As an ebulk provider, meaning we can process CRB applications on line approved by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, we are able to provide huge benefits to processing and completion times of CRB Disclosures as well as removing the margin for human error and avoiding any applications to be returned from the CRB.  As the process is entirely electronic, the CRB do not return hard copy certificates for criminal disclosures where no information is required to be disclosed.  In every instance the individual will receive a copy sent to their home address, however, only if the status reads in ‘in post’ will the employer receive a copy.  ‘No match’ means the CRB have no information to disclose and the CRB check is clear.  ‘In post’ means there is information the CRB would like to advise the employer which can not be transmitted electronically due to a risk of security, therefore a hard copy will follow in the post.  Any organisations who believe receiving a hard copy certificate is critical to their processes may wish to opt for previous paper-based methods of processing which we of course happy to provide.


Point 3:    Cost of CRB processing

Please be advised the fees to access the CRB and DS Disclosure service are set by the Criminal Records Bureau and Disclosure Scotland respectively and are out of the control of CBS.  However, CBS are conscious of the financial commitment many organisations have to make in order to comply with regulations and legislation and acknowledge the processes can often become expensive when undertaking high volumes of criminal checks.  Therefore, CBS are committed to the consideration of reductions in administrations costs to long standing customers who submit volume applications.  If you would like to apply for a reduction in administration costs please contact Rachel Bedgood via email who will be able to consider your circumstances and authorise any changes to your account (rachelb@cbscreening.com).



CBS strive to achieve outstanding services to all clients by implementing online, streamlined processes and first line customer support, we were pleased to receive the following comments from some of our clients:

~ Thank you for your continued support and business we look forward to working with you in the future ~