Current News

REC responds to consultation on Scottish barring scheme

The REC has responded to the Scottish Government consultation on the Protection of Vulnerable Groups scheme.

Commenting on the scheme, Lorraine Laryea, Solicitor and Commercial Advisor at the REC said:  "Overall, the scheme has taken the role of recruitment agencies into account.  The scheme is less far reaching that the Vetting and Barring Scheme proposed for the rest of the UK.  The scheme is voluntary and only those working in regulated environments doing a particular task, such as teaching, or those who are work in particular settings and who are unsupervised will need to register." 

However there are concerns about how the scheme will operate in practice, Lorraine continues: “Agency workers may potentially be asked to provide a new scheme record update to confirm that they are able to take up regulated work for each assignment they are placed on.  REC would consider such a requirement as burdensome and unnecessary, particularly as there will be a charge for each update. We hope that the Scottish Government take this concern into account as they develop their scheme." 

The REC has also highlighted in its response the potential duplication of checks of workers, such as locum doctors, who are likely to work across the UK.  There is no commencement date for this scheme yet.  The Vetting and Barring Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, will be mandatory for new recruits in regulated activity from November 2010. 

The REC response can be downloaded at: http://www.rec.uk.com/about-recruitment/externalrelations/consultations