Disclosure Scotland (PVG Scheme)

Introduction

Legislation brought in by the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 came into force in Scotland in 2011. This replaced the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 and with it the definition and process for performing criminal record checks on staff and students whose work brings them into contact with vulnerable groups (previously ’Enhanced Disclosure checks’).  It replaced these with a Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme which requires membership for certain types of work.  Disclosure Scotland is the governing body responsible for all matters relating to the legislation and has been given enhanced regulatory powers.

Aims and scope of the legislation

The general provision of the PVG Act (Scotland) 2007 applies to Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) in Scotland in the same way as it applies to any other organisation in Scotland.  However, the definition of the PVG Scheme expects only a very small minority of HE staff to be doing regulated work and these are likely to be in quite specific positions.

Aims 

The aims of the Scheme are defined as follows:

• To help to ensure that those who have regular contact with children and protected adults, through paid and unpaid work, do not have a known history of harmful behaviour
• To be quick and easy to use, reducing the need for PVG Scheme members to complete a detailed application form every time a disclosure check is required
• To strike a balance between proportionate protection and robust regulation and make it easier for employers to determine who should be checked to protect their client group.

It is an offence for employers to employ individuals who are barred from doing related work with children or protected adults.  It is also an offence to carry out checks on individuals that cannot be justified.

Scheme membership is portable for the individual and membership is essentially for life. The nature of the Scheme is such that records remain ‘live’ and any new and related information can be flagged up to employers for consideration at any time.  This is a significant enhancement on the current system which is static.

Scope and Definitions

The key terms used in the PVG Act are ‘children’, ‘protected adults’ and ‘regulated work’.

Children

Children for the purposes of the Act are all people under the age of 18.

Protected adults

Protected adults for the purposes of the Act are individuals aged 16 or over who are provided with a type of care, support or welfare service.  This definition of protected adult supersedes the definition of “adult at risk” previously used for the purposes of eligibility for enhanced disclosure.  To be classified as an adult at risk, an individual had to meet three criteria: having a condition, in consequence of which they were deemed to have a disability and thus received a care service.  

Section 94 of the Act replaces these three criteria with a test linked to the type of services being received by the individual.  Protected adult is therefore a service based definition which avoids labelling adults on the basis of their having a specific condition or disability.

Regulated work

It is important to note that only a small minority of staff who come into contact with children or protected adults through their work are doing regulated work with children or adults.  In order for HE staff to fall within the definition, they must be specifically employed for the majority of their time in caring for, supervising and advising children and/or protected adults.  This provision will not apply to those staff who are specifically employed to carry out these tasks for all students, the majority of whom will be over 18 and will not be protected adults.

Exceptions to regulated work – Incidental Activity

The Disclosure Scotland guidance narrows the scope of regulated work by an ‘incidental test’.  Some, but not all, activities with children and protected adults are excluded from being regulated work if the activity is occurring incidentally to working with individuals who are not children or protected adults.  In the example of a Lecturer who teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students, University classes are aimed at the population as a whole but may include some children in first year undergraduate classes.  Despite the fact that some children attend classes, teaching them is incidental to the teaching of adults and therefore Lecturers are not considered to be doing regulated work with children.

Broadly speaking, a protected adult will be in receipt of treatment for a physical or mental condition. Regulated work involves supervising, caring for, assisting and/or being in sole charge of a protected adult and, as with children, this work must be the main focus of the job and not incidental to carrying out these tasks for all students.

Very few staff working for HE institutions (apart from clinicians) will be providing a service which makes an adult a protected adult.  One example of an employee who may be providing such a service would be a Disability Adviser with a specific remit to provide support, assistance, advice or counselling to individuals with particular needs.

Impact on the University of Dundee

Who does it effect?

With effect from 28 February 2011, Universities were no longer required to undertake disclosure checks for the majority of research and teaching posts.

A preliminary overview of those posts which fall within the scope of the PVG Scheme in UoD is detailed in the table.

All new staff in the posts covered are required to be members of the PVG Scheme and all existing staff in these posts should have joined the relevant PVG Scheme(s).

Students

It should be noted that this scheme will apply to those students undertaking relevant degree programmes within the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing & Health Sciences and Education & Social Work where there is a requirement to undergo disclosure as a condition of entry onto the degree programme.

Costs

Overall costs to the University are substantially lower due to the very small number of staff who  require PVG Scheme membership and the fact that membership is portable and brings many candidates who already have scheme membership from previous employment.

Initial membership for a “Scheme Record” for each individual joining the PVG scheme is £59.

For individuals who are already scheme members, a “Scheme Record Update” at £18 is available which contains information about scheme membership and indicates whether there have been any changes to the information on the Scheme Record since it was last disclosed.

Costs will initially be met for staff by the University although we reserve the right to review this in the future.