The Disclosure and Barring Service –
Changes from June 2013 onwards
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) replaced the
Criminal Records Bureau and the Independent Safeguarding
Authority in December 2012. With the new organisation comes
a new online update service and a number of other system
changes. UKHCA policy team outline here how the system changes will
affect your current criminal record checking procedures and where to find
more information.
We will update this document as more information becomes available.
Filtering of some old and minor offences
Following a case in the Court of Appeal, some old convictions will be
filtered and will no longer appear on a DBS certificate.
Which offences will be filtered?
For those 18 or over at the time of the offence:
An adult conviction will be removed from a DBS criminal record certificate
if:
 11 years have elapsed since the date of conviction; and
 it is the person’s only offence, and
 it did not result in a custodial sentence.
An adult caution will be removed after 6 years have elapsed since the date
of the caution – and if it does not appear on the list of offences relevant to
safeguarding.
For those under 18 at the time of the offence:
 The same rules apply as for adult convictions, except that the
elapsed time period is 5.5 years
 The same rules apply as for adult cautions, except that the elapsed
time period is 2 years.
Will these offences always be filtered?
No. There is a list of offences that will never be filtered which includes
violent and sexual offences and those relating to safeguarding. Also, if
someone has more than one offence, none of them will be filtered so a full
criminal history will be reported on the DBS certificate.
How does this affect me?
Employers can no longer ask an applicant to declare all of their criminal
history. Where a Standard or Enhanced certificate can legally be
requested (this is where the position is one that is listed in the
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975 (Exceptions) Order 1975), an
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employer can only ask an individual about convictions and cautions that
would fall under the rules described above. That means only those
convictions and cautions that would not be filtered.
If an employer takes into account a conviction or caution that would
not have been disclosed on a DBS certificate they are acting
unlawfully under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. So if an
individual discloses an offence to you that does not appear on their
DBS certificate you must disregard it for your recruitment decision.
The DBS ask employers to give the following advice to applicants
when completing the criminal record declaration part of the DBS
application form:
‘Do you have any convictions, cautions, reprimands or final
warnings which would not be filtered in line with current
guidance?’
The DBS filtering guidance is available online. It contains full details
of the filtering rules and a list of offences which will never be
filtered.
The DBS have had guidance from the Ministry of Justice on how
employers should amend their recruitment processes when asking
about previous criminal offences. They suggest the following
question as a template for your own processes:
‘Do you have any convictions, cautions, reprimands or final
warnings that are not "protected" as defined by the
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975
(as amended in 2013) by SI 2013 1198’.
Single certificate issued to applicant only
Why will there only be one copy of the certificate?
From 17th June 2013, only one DBS certificate will be issued and it will be
sent directly to the applicant. This follows recommendations from previous
reports that the DBS certificate should be sent directly to the applicant so
that they can raise a dispute with DBS if the certificate is incorrect.
If you or your registered body use the e-bulk service, you will receive a
notification that the certificate has been completed. If you don’t use ebulk, you will still be able to ‘track’ the application as you do now and see
when the certificate has been completed. In either case, you will then
need to ask the applicant to show it to you. This copy must be kept safe
by the applicant as the DBS will not re-issue lost certificates.
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How will I demonstrate that I’ve seen the certificate to the
regulator?
As well as getting prepared to ask candidates to bring their certificate into
the office promptly you will also need to prepare new records to show CQC
that you have seen the DBS certificate.
You can keep a photocopy of the certificate with the applicant’s permission
and this must be kept in line with the DBS policy on storage and retention
of Disclosure information and the Data Protection Act.
If you do not keep a photocopy, you can make a record of:
 The date of issue of the certificate.
 Name of the subject.
 Date of birth of the subject.
 Type of certificate requested.
 Whether the children's and/or adults barred list was checked and
what the outcome was.
 The reference number of the certificate.
 The details of the employment decision taken by the provider.
You must have the original DBS certificate to take these details from, a
photocopy is not sufficient. The certificate must also be for the correct
workforce and at the right level (e.g. enhanced, adult workforce).
The online update service
What is the online update service?
The online update service is launching on 17th June 2013. Applicants can
subscribe to the update service once they have applied for a DBS check.
They will then be able to take their original certificate to different
employers without having to apply for a new one. Employers can check
online, for free to see if there have been any changes since the last
certificate was issued. The update service will cost £13 per year to
subscribe to and will be free for volunteers.
Who can subscribe to the update service?
Individuals can choose to subscribe when they apply for a DBS certificate
after the 17th June.
When can you subscribe?
This must be done online at the time of the application or 14 days from
when the applicant receives their certificate.
What information will I find out from an online status check?
You can check whether a DBS certificate is still current once the applicant
gives you permission to check their status online, you MUST have seen
the original certificate.
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The online status check will give you one of four responses:
1. This DBS Certificate did not reveal any information and remains
current as no further information has been identified since its issue.
2. This DBS Certificate remains current as no further information has
been identified since its issue.
3. This DBS Certificate is no longer current. Please apply for a new
DBS check to get the most up-to-date information.
4. The details entered do not match those held on our system. Please
check and try again
So, if the applicant’s certificate is still current and no new information has
been identified you will not need to apply for a new one. You can print off
a copy of the status check that you do as a record to show the regulator.
Will I ever have to apply for a new DBS check for applicants
that are subscribed to the update service?
Perhaps. You may need to apply for a new certificate if there is new
information available about the person that would appear on a DBS check.
The update service will give you response number 3 above if you need to
get a new check.
You may also need to apply for a check if someone is moving to a new
‘workforce’, from the child to adult workforce for example. This is because
the certificate will need to check against a different barring list and
possibly trigger the sharing of different information from police forces. You
will also need to get a new check if the applicant has changed their name
since their original check was completed or has not renewed their
subscription to the Update Service.
Can I find out if someone has been barred since their DBS
certificate was issued?
Yes. If someone is subscribed to the update service and a status check
reveals that their certificate is no longer current, you can email a form to
the DBS to find out if this is due to the person being barred from working
in a regulated activity. The person’s original DBS certificate must have a
barred list check in order for you to use this service. This is currently a
free service.
Can I pay for applicants to subscribe?
Yes. Applicants can use a debit/credit card other than their own to
subscribe with the bill payers permission.
Who will remind the applicant when their subscription is due
to run out?
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Applicants will be emailed a reminder from the DBS 30 days before
their subscription is due to expire. It will then be up to the applicant
to continue their subscription and ensure the subscription fee is
paid. If the subscription is not renewed the applicant and their
employer can no longer use the update service, they will need to
get a new DBS check if they move to a new employer.
Do we complete the application form differently?
Due to a change in legislation, you will need to complete the 'position
applied for' field on the DBS application form differently. Changing the
way you complete this field will ensure that any DBS certificate issued
after the Update Service commences can be used by the individual in the
new service, and to take it with them from role to role within the relevant
workforce(s). This is because the Police will now use this broader
definition of 'workforce' to assess the relevance of any information that
they may consider for release, in place of 'position applied for'.
How do we complete the ‘position applied for’ field?
You should now include one of the following phrases in the 'position
applied for' field, in addition to the job title:




'Child Workforce'. Use this for any position that involves
working/volunteering with children.
'Adult Workforce'. Use this for any position that involves
working/volunteering with adults.
'Child and Adult Workforce'. Use this for any position that involves
working/volunteering with both children and adults.
'Other Workforce'. Use this for any position that does not involve
working/volunteering with Children or Adults e.g. security guard.
Is the 3 month portability system still available for those not
signed up to the new service?
CQC will still accept the 3 month portability of DBS checks for employees.
For anyone who does not voluntarily subscribe to the new online Update
Service, and moves jobs to another employer, CQC would be content if
the new employer/provider accepts the employees existing DBS check if it
is at the appropriate level for the job they are taking on, and it is less
than 3 months old.
CQC’s revised guidance on the disclosure and barring system is available
online and covers this issue on page 22, click here to visit CQC’s
guidance.
Further information and guidance
You can stay up-to-date and read the DBS news online and sign up to
DBS email alerts to keep up-to-date.
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CQC have produced advice on the DBS changes:
http://www.cqc.org.uk/organisations-we-regulate/registering-firsttime/criminal-record-checks/changes-criminal-records-and
Information about the filtering of old and minor convictions can be found
on the Home Office website: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dbsfilter-certain-old-and-minor-cautions-and-convictions-reprimands-andwarnings-from-criminal-record-certificates
Employer and Applicant guidance on the update service can be found on
the DBS website: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coming-soondisclosure-and-barring-service-to-launch-the-update-service
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