All,

Please see the response to my request for information from CRB Customer Service below. I think that the key phrase is: "The CRB was established under Part V of the Police Act 1997 which made Standard and Enhanced Disclosures available for positions included in the Exceptions Order 1975 to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974." I think that this means that if we want a CRB check, it _must_ be for a category listed at http://www.crb.gov.uk/Default.aspx? page=1855 . Can anyone identify a category on that list which membership falls under? I can't spot one...

Mike

Begin forwarded message:

From: "CRB Customer Service" info@crb.gsi.gov.uk Date: 8 October 2008 09:59:46 BDT To: criminalrecordsbureau@mikepeel.net Subject: RE: Form Submission: Enquiry:Volunteers

The role of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is to assist employers/regulatory body in making a recruitment/licensing decision by disclosing any relevant information recorded by the police and to check against the lists held by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department of Health (DH) of those unsuitable to work with/care for children and or vulnerable adults.

The CRB was established under Part V of the Police Act 1997 which made Standard and Enhanced Disclosures available for positions included in the Exceptions Order 1975 to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. Neither Part V of the Police Act 1997 nor the Exceptions Order 1975 makes checks compulsory. However, there are other pieces of legislation which make checks mandatory, for example it is compulsory for childcare organisations (as defined in the Act) to undertake checks of the Protection of Childrens Act (PoCA) list and to establish whether an individual is subject to a direction under section 142 of the Education Act 2002 for those working in regulated positions. Furthermore, there is a statutory requirement on care providers who are planning to employ a care worker in a care home or through a domiciliary care agency to check whether that person is included in the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) list.

Organisations are not penalised if they do not avail themselves of the opportunity afforded by the Exceptions Order to ask staff to apply for a Disclosure. However, as mentioned above there are consequences if employers do not ask staff to apply for a Disclosure when other legislation requires them to do so.

It is not enough to meet our eligibility criteria, to state that an individual may come into contact with children or vulnerable adults. Eligibility to apply for a Disclosure depends on the specific role a person will perform whilst conducting their duties within an organisation. A risk assessment should be undertaken to assess the role and duties they are expected to fulfil whilst carrying out their role and Disclosure application should be made accordingly.

Therefore, in light of the above, by using a full range of pre-recruitment checks, the employer is ultimately best placed to assess whether a Standard or Enhanced Disclosure is required for a specific role, bearing in mind their legal and other responsibilities.

The Disclosure Access Category Codes can be found on this direct link to our website http://www.crb.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=1855 and provides an overview of the eligible positions.

Kind regards

Paul Coventry

Criminal Records Bureau

PO Box 110

Liverpool

L3 6ZZ

T: 0870 90 90 844

F: 0151 676 1730

Please remember the CRB call centre is open 6 days a week, 8am till 8pm weekdays and 10am till 5pm on Saturdays to answer all your enquiries.

Also you may wish to take a look at our Disclosure website at www.disclosure.gov.uk for further up to date information regarding the CRB and the Disclosure process.

-----Original Message----- From: criminalrecordsbureau@mikepeel.net [mailto:criminalrecordsbureau@mikepeel.net] Sent: 06 October 2008 8:24 PM To: CRB Customer Service Subject: Form Submission: Enquiry:Volunteers

Subject: Enquiry:Volunteers

Email Result For General Enquiry Form :

Title : Mr

First Name/s : Michael

Surname : Peel

Address : Jodrell Bank Observatory

:

Town/City : Macclesfield

County : Cheshire

Postcode : SK11 9DL

Country : United Kingdom

Telephone :

Email : criminalrecordsbureau@mikepeel.net

Enquiry : Volunteers

Comments on site : Dear Sir/Madam,

I am currently involved in the creation of a new charity to support the work of the Wikimedia Foundation (the foundation behind Wikipedia etc.) Membership of this charity will primarily aimed at adults, but children are also expected to join. I have been asked to investigate whether the Membership Secretary of the charity should undergo a CRB check.

As I understand it, a CRB check is required only if working directly with vulnerable people. I am unclear as to whether it is required for people who hold personal information of the members of the charity - e.g. age and address - which might include children or vulnerable adults. I am also unclear whether it is legal to require CRB checks of membership secretaries, especially with regards to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. Please could you clarify both of these issues for me?

Yours faithfully, Michael Peel

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