Council Policy

General Principles

The Councils comply fully with the Disclosure and Barring Service’s (DBS) Code of Practice regarding the correct handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of Disclosures and Disclosure information. It also complies fully with its obligations under the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation concerning the safe handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of Disclosure information. The details are set out below.

Storage and Access

Information revealed in a DBS check will never be printed off the e-Bulk system to be kept on an applicant's or member of staff's personal file; it is always kept online and secure. Access will be strictly controlled and limited to those who are entitled to see it as part of their duties.

Handling and Usage

In accordance with Section 124 of the Police Act 1997, information is only passed to those who are authorised to receive it in the course of their duties. The Councils maintains records of all those to whom information has been revealed. The Councils recognises that it is a criminal offence to pass this information to anyone who is not entitled to receive it.
Information is only used for the specific purpose for which it was requested.

Retention

The Councils will neither retain DBS certificates nor a record of DBS information for longer than is required. In general this will be no later than six months after the date on which recruitment or other relevant decisions are made. Throughout this time, the usual conditions regarding safe storage and strictly controlled access will prevail.

Disposal

The Councils’ e-Bulk system has a built in auto-purge mechanism which is set up to destroys all records as soon as the 6-month date has been reached. . The Councils will not print off and retain keep any other image of a DBS check Disclosure or any copy or representation of the contents of a Disclosure. However, notwithstanding the above, the Councils may keep a record of the date of issue of a Disclosure, the name of the subject, the type of Disclosure requested, the position for which the Disclosure was requested, the unique reference number of the Disclosure and a record of all those to whom Disclosures or Disclosure Information has been revealed.

Acting as an Umbrella Body

Before acting as an Umbrella Body (one which countersigns applications and receives DBS information on behalf of other employers or recruiting organisations), the Councils will send details a draft Agreement to the organisations to ensure that they are fully aware of the Council’s terms and conditions which include an assurance of full compliance with the DBS Code of Practice. The Council will request that these organisations have a written policy on the secure storage, handling, use, retention and disposal of the information in full compliance with the DBS Code or that they agree to abide by the provisions outlined in this policy.
When a disclosure certificate with no criminal record or barring information is issued by the DBS organisations will receive an automatic e-mail.

When a disclosure contains criminal record or barring information, the Councils’ nominated representative will telephone the nominated lead individual for the organisation to discuss further.

Guidance Note on Assessing the Relevance of Criminal Records


Introduction

This note has been based on guidance which has been recommended by the Disclosure and Barring Service (previously known as the CRB). It has been drafted in order to assist officers chairing selection panels and HR officers when making appointment decisions. As the Disclosure process will take place after interview, the interviewing panel will already have taken a view on the suitability of the applicant in terms of the person specification requirements. The assessment of the relevance of any criminal conviction will form a final part of the selection process along with medical clearance, references and other pre-employment checks.

Seeking advice

When a Disclosure has been received which shows that an applicant for a post has a criminal record which may be relevant, this should be discussed between the manager chairing the selection panel and the Business Partner Manager. In cases of doubt, advice should be sought from the Head of HR, or nominee, and the Director consulted. Following this a discussion should take place with the applicant. This is in order to explore whether, in the light of the disclosure information received, the applicant would be likely to be suitable for the post applied for.
In cases where a Disclosure indicates that the applicant is on a Barred List the applicant must not be appointed. In some instances to knowingly make an offer to the applicant would constitute a criminal offence. For applicants on such lists to apply for certain posts would constitute a criminal offence.

Suitability of applicant

The suitability for employment of a person with a criminal record depends on the nature of the job and the details and circumstances of any convictions. Deciding on the relevance of convictions to specific posts is a matter of judgement. An assessment of an applicant's skills, experience and conviction circumstances should be weighed against a risk assessment for the job. It should be remembered that employing people on the basis of information provided in an application form and a relatively short interview, irrespective of whether they have a criminal record or not, is never risk free. Staff responsible for recruitment need to identify what risks might be involved and the precautions to be put in place in order to provide satisfactory safeguards.

Relevance in relation to posts

To facilitate this process, an applicant's criminal record should be assessed in relation to the tasks s/he will be required to perform and the circumstances in which the work is to be carried out. It is recommended that the following points be considered when deciding on the relevance of offences to particular posts:
• does the post involve one-to-one contact with children, young people or members of other vulnerable groups as employees, customers and clients; 
• what level of supervision will the post holder receive; 
• does the post involve any direct responsibility for money or items of value; 
• does the post involve direct contact with the public; 
• will the nature of the job present any opportunities for the post holder to re-offend in the place of work? 

The answers to such questions should help to determine the relevance of convictions to specific posts. For example, sexual offences would almost certainly disqualify any person required to work with children, young people, vulnerable adults or visit members of the public; some violent offences would be relevant to positions involving unsupervised contact with the public; fraud should be considered in relation to posts involving the handling of significant amounts of money; and theft in relation to posts involving the handling of stock.

Relevance in relation to offences

In some cases, the relationship between the offences and the post will be clear enough for a manager to decide easily on the suitability of the applicant for the job. In other cases, the decision may not be so clear-cut. For applicants who disclose a criminal record that may not appear to be related directly to the post, the relevance of each offence should be discussed with the applicant. It should be remembered that no two offences are exactly alike. For example, a premeditated burglary that involves extensive damage to property and the physical intimidation of the occupants ought not to be considered in the same light as someone convicted of stealing a small item on a whim. Whilst it will not be possible to carry out a thorough risk assessment on each individual, it is recommended that the following issues are taken into account as a minimum requirement:
• the seriousness of the offence and its relevance to the safety of other employees, members of the public, clients and property; 
• the length of time since the offence occurred; 
• any relevant information offered by the applicant about the circumstances which led to the offence being committed, for example the influence of past domestic or financial difficulties; 
• whether the offence was a one-off, or part of a history of offending; 
• whether the applicant's circumstances have changed since the offence was committed, making re-offending less likely; 
• the country in which the offence was committed; some activities are offences in Scotland and not in England and Wales, and vice versa; 
• whether the offence has since been decriminalised by Parliament; 
• the degree of remorse, or otherwise, expressed by the applicant and the likelihood of changed behaviour. 

Examples of relevant convictions

A broad indication of the general relevance of convictions to types of posts is shown in the table below but it should be borne in mind that there is a broad range of convictions and individual circumstances. It is therefore important that each case should be considered on its own merits.

Discussion with applicant

In the event of a decision that a criminal conviction renders the applicant unsuitable for the post, the Chair of the panel should explain this to the applicant with the reasons for the decision and the relevance of the conviction to the duties required.
Records of existing staff
When assessing the criminal records of existing staff, the principles set out in this guidance note should be followed.