Current News

Public sector resourcing- safeguarding update

The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (the Act) set out to restrict the scope of the 'vetting and barring' scheme for protecting vulnerable groups and make changes to the current system of criminal records checks. Members have participated in a series of Home Office workshops on what the Act and its provisions mean for them. The Act primarily aims to bring checks to within ‘common sense levels’ and the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will be merged into one body-- the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

The Home Office has awarded the contract to support the delivery of the functions of the CRB and the ISA to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).  TCS, a global leader in IT Services and Business Solutions, will be the commercial partner for DBS. The contract will last for five years, starting in Spring 2013.

The REC continues to be involved in detailed discussions about the changes to safeguarding services as we push for an efficient and safe system of checks. 

You can find out more about these changes at a webinar the REC Safeguarding Group will be holding  on the 1st November, register your place here.

If you would like to get involved with our public resourcing campaign please contact Chris Wilford, REC Policy & PR Advisor at chris.wilford@rec.uk.com.