Vetting and Barring Responsibilities It will be a criminal offence for an employer to allow a barred person, or a person who is not yet registered with the ISA, to work for any length of time in any regulated activity. It will be a criminal offence for an employer to take on a person in a regulated activity if they fail to check that person’s status.

Vetting and Barring Responsibilities Who is responsible? The ‘Regulated Activity Provider’ (RAP) - this is the person or people who manage or control the regulated activity. For most Baptist churches this is likely to be the group of trustees or a trustee designated to have responsibility for children’s and/or vulnerable adults work.

Offences and Penalties A RAP who permits someone who is not ISA registered to engage in regulated activity may be liable to a fine of up to £5000. Failure to make the appropriate check will be punishable by a fine of up to £5000. A RAP commits a more serious offence if they knowingly permit a barred person to engage in regulated activity and will be liable to imprisonment for up to 5 years and/or a fine.

How do you check that someone is registered with the ISA? When someone becomes registered the ISA will give them a 16 digit ISA-Registration number. An ‘employer’ will be able to carry out an online status check by entering the applicant’s ISA-Registration number and date of birth. It will be illegal to check an individual’s monitoring status without a legitimate reason and that individual’s consent. If the check shows that the individual is being monitored then they may start work in a ‘Regulated Activity.’ However, it is advisable that new workers are supervised until the full Disclosure is received.

Registering an Interest Registering an Interest can be done online and again you will need the applicant’s ISA- registration number and date of birth. The ISA will then contact you by if that person’s status changes. If you move away or are no longer the person responsible for this you should unsubscribe your interest and make sure that your replacement registers an interest. This is not compulsory but strongly recommended.

If someone becomes Barred… You must immediately stop them from working in ‘Regulated Activity.’ It will be an offence for that person to carry out Regulated Activity. The ISA will not provide details of why their status has changed apart from through an Enhanced Disclosure. If you have received this information at a local level, pass the information on to your Regional Minister.

ISA Referrals Since October 2010 it has become a regulated activity provider’s legal duty to make a referral to the ISA if both of the following criteria are met. 1. You withdraw permission for an individual to engage in regulated activity or would have done so had that individual not resigned, retired, been made redundant or been transferred to a position which is not regulated activity; because 2. You think that the individual has: engaged in relevant conduct; satisfied the Harm Test; or received a caution or conviction for a relevant offence.

The Harm Test The harm test is satisfied if you believe that an individual may: harm a child or vulnerable adult; cause a child or vulnerable adult to be harmed; put a child or vulnerable adult at risk of harm; attempt to harm a child or vulnerable adult; or incite another to harm a child or vulnerable adult.

Making Referrals The referral should be made to the ISA when the regulated activity provider has gathered sufficient evidence as part of their investigations to support their reasons for withdrawing permission to engage in regulated activity. Consult your Regional Minister and possibly your Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO.)

Timetable for Implementation Phased in over 5 years From July 26 th 2010 new workers may register From November 1 st 2010 new workers must register From April 2011 existing workers may register, starting with those who have never been CRB checked then those whose CRB checks were carried out longest ago. By July 2015 all workers should be registered.

Changeover of forms Please submit applications on the current forms to CAS by 31 st May. CAS will continue to accept urgent applications on the current form until 30 th June. From the beginning of July only applications on the new forms will be accepted. Please shred any stocks of the old forms.

Renewing CRB checks There is still a need to renew CRB checks. Please don’t renew your CRB check between July 2010 and April From April 2011, when your CRB renewal is due then you can apply for a CRB check and ISA registration on one form. If you are already registered with the ISA through your work or other organisation, this is portable and you do not need to register again.

Forms and Agencies Umbrella bodies such as CCPAS, CAS have received an initial stock of new forms and will be distributing them shortly. Churches using CAS will receive forms via their Regional Association at first. You can start submitting the forms from the beginning of July but the CRB will not start to process them till 26 th July.

Cost CRB checks and ISA registration are free for all volunteers. A combined Enhanced CRB check and ISA Registration will cost £64. ISA registration by itself will also cost £64. An Enhanced CRB check by itself remains £36. If you register with ISA as a volunteer and then later take on a paid role, the CRB would like you to register again and pay them.