Reforms to Vetting and Barring Scheme planned after Singleton report

The new vetting and barring scheme covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland is to be watered down after the original proposals produced a deluge of complaints that it was too bureaucratic and would deter genuine volunteers.

The Children’s Secretary said he had accepted all of the recommendations contained in a report by Sir Roger Singleton, the chief adviser on the safety of children and chairman of the Independent Safeguarding Authority. Ed Balls had commissioned a report into whether the line was drawn in the right place for registration under the scheme.

In his report, Drawing the Line, Sir Roger recommended that private arrangements between parents and friends should continue to remain outside the scheme. However, where an organisation makes the decisions on which adults should work with their children then the requirement to register will apply.

Other significant recommendations include a proposal that the “frequent contact test” should be met if the work with children takes place once a week or more. At present the test is if activity happens as often as once a month. The report adds that the "intensive contact test" should be met if the work takes place on four days in one month or more or overnight.

In addition, invidividuals who go into different schools or similar settings to work with different groups of children will not be required to register unless their contact with the same children is frequent or intensive.

A review will also be undertaken into the minimum age of registration for young people engaging in regulated activity as part of their education, while the government will immediately change the rules so that 16 to 18-year-olds in education are not required to register.

It is estimated that implementing the changes will mean that the number of people required to register will fall from 11 million to nine million. The timing of the scheme’s rollout will not be affected.

Ed Balls said: “Keeping children and young people safe is a top priority for Government and a robust vetting and barring system that prevents people who are known to be a threat working with them is crucial to that. But we also need to make sure that we draw the line in the right place and that we do not interfere in private arrangements that are rightly made between friends and family.”

Further reviews proposed by Sir Roger and adopted by the government will cover the continuing need for “controlled activity” and the law on when those workers who already have ISA registration will have to get CRB checks.