Disclosure and barring – protecting children and vulnerable adults
Disclosure and barring arrangements help protect children and vulnerable adults. Below is information on how they work and information on the law.
How disclosure and barring arrangements work
Safeguarding legislation enables organisations to carry out background checks on those individuals they engage to work, or volunteer, in regulated activity. The checks are issued by AccessNI.
Disclosure and Barring Service
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. The DBS decides whether it is suitable for a person to be placed on or removed from a barred list.
Barring people from working with vulnerable groups
If the DBS receives information that indicates that a person may pose a risk of harm to vulnerable groups, including children, they will look into this and may make a decision to include this person on a barred list.
The individual concerned will be told why and will be able to have their say. If barred, an individual may be able to appeal, depending on the circumstances.
If you think someone shouldn’t be working with vulnerable groups
If you’re an employer and you have removed one of your staff, or you would have done so had the person not left, because you think that they have harmed or may harm a child or vulnerable adult, the law says you must tell the DBS.
You’ll need to fill out a form and send it with any evidence like details of any disciplinary process.
Contact DBS
You can contact DBS through Regional Outreach Advisers.