The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Prescribed Information) Regulations 2008

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

These Regulations prescribe the information that, in specified circumstances, must be provided to the Independent Barring Board (“IBB”) under various provisions in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (“the Act”) and the information that may be provided to IBB in other circumstances. In brief, the duties and powers to provide information arise where it may be appropriate for a person to be considered by IBB for inclusion in one or both of the barred lists established under section 2 of the Act or where IBB is considering removing a person from a barred list.

A duty to refer the prescribed information or to provide such information following a request from IBB is placed on regulated activity providers, responsible persons, personnel suppliers, local authorities, keepers of relevant registers and supervisory authorities. The circumstances in which such duties arise are set out in sections 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 45 and 46 of the Act.

The Regulations also include details that must be provided to IBB under paragraph 19(1)(b) of Schedule 3 to the Act (namely prescribed details of cautions and convictions). This duty falls on any person who holds records of convictions or cautions for the use of police forces generally.

In addition, the Regulations prescribe the information that IBB must provide to the Secretary of State under paragraph 21 of Schedule 3 to the Act in circumstances in which it includes a person on a barred list, is considering doing so or where IBB thinks that any of the criteria prescribed for the purposes of paragraphs 1, 2, 7 or 8 of Schedule 3 to the Act (i.e. criteria leading to automatic inclusion in a barred list) are satisfied with respect to a person and that the Secretary of State does not already have this information.

Regulations 5, 7, 9, 11 and 12 will be come into force on 20th January 2009 to assist IBB to exercise functions under transitory provisions that will see IBB start to make barring decisions in relation to individuals who would formerly have been referred to the Secretary of State. This is one of the steps towards the full implementation of the vetting and barring scheme under the Act. The remaining regulations will come into force on 12th October 2009.