Disclosures

Police checks are required when volunteers are working with vulnerable adults or children.

Volunteer Centre Fife and Volunteer Development Scotland both strongly recommend that access to Disclosures is only one part of good practice in the recruitment and selection of volunteers to any organisation working with or planning to work with volunteers.

About CRBS

The Central Registered Body in Scotland (CRBS) was established by the Scottish Executive to provide free Disclosures (police checks) for volunteers in the voluntary sector working with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

The CRBS is a service operated by Volunteer Development Scotland. Based in Stirling, the CRBS is the only source of free Disclosures for volunteers in the voluntary sector in Scotland.

If your organisation works with children, young people and vulnerable adults and your volunteers come into regular contact with them, you are required to carry out a Disclosure check.

Your organisation will have to register with CRBS. Volunteer Centre Fife can provide you with information on how to do this and advice about whether or not your organisation requires Disclosure checks.

Types of Disclosures

CRBS now provides only one type of Disclosure:

Enhanced Disclosure - for individuals who are 'regularly caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children and vulnerable adults'.

It should be noted that all disclosures are valid only on the day of printing and for a specific post.

Further information is available from CRBS:

Central Registered Body in Scotland
Unit 55
Stirling Enterprise Park
STIRLING
FK7 7RP
Tel: 01786 849777
Email: info@crbs.org.uk
Website: www.crbs.org.uk

How to Register with CRBS

CRBS is always seeking improved methods for making sure that individuals who receive disclosure information are suitable. The reason they do this is to ensure that those who potentially pose a threat to the vulnerable are not able to secure access to positions of trust such as lead signatories or collators within organisations.

For this reason, CRBS request applicants to complete a Disclosure application form together with the CRBS Form 1. They also request that an agreement is signed by a Board Member/Management Committee Member or Office Bearer of your organisation.

There are two stages to the registration process:

1. Verification of the identity of the potential Lead Signatory/Collator 
2. Checking the organisation and lead signatory registration application (CRBS form 1 and Disclosure Application Form) and associated documents and policies

Verification of Identity 

Visual identification of a Lead Signatory is mandatory for registration.  
CRBS cannot be complacent about the possibility of identity theft/fraud. However the process of visual identification is simple and straight forward. 
Verification of the identity of the potential Lead Signatory/Collator can be carried out in one of three ways:

1. Drop in session (Wednesdays 2-4pm) at CRBS offices, Stirling or by appointment
2. By CRBS staff at specified times and venues during training sessions
3. By prior arrangement with your local Trusted Partner – Volunteer Centre Fife 

Trusted Partner Scheme

Currently organisations wishing to register must either travel to Stirling or wait for a date and time that CRBS can arrange and attend a registration session in their locale.

The purpose of the Trusted Partner Scheme is to provide the facility for prospective Lead Signatories to have their identification verified at selected centres throughout Scotland.

Our Role

Volunteer Centre Fife is part of the Trusted Partners Scheme. We have no responsibility in checking the validity of documentation nor if your organisation is entitled to register for Disclosure checks.

Our role is to:

• make visual identification on behalf of CRBS
• verify the person in front of us is the same person that is pictured on the ID documentation
• sign and date the passport sized photograph provided by the person registering
• complete the CRBS Trusted Partner form
• send the picture and form to CRBS

The Procedure

STEP ONE

Make an appointment with your local branch of Volunteer Centre Fife - remember only certain people at each of our offices are authorised to carry out the verification process.

STEP TWO

When attending your appointment, please remember to bring with you:

• a passport sized photograph of yourself
• the appropriate documents from the following lists – ideally at least one from each of the following groups

Group 1 – ID Verification

• Passport ( UK or other country)
• Driving Licence with photograph (see below)
• Other Photo ID Card (e.g. staff ID card)

A driving licence without a photograph used in conjunction with a passport or other photo ID would not require any further documentation from list 2, although a driving licence with a photograph provides sufficient ID, it is preferred that at least one further piece of ID documentation is seen.

If no Group 1 documents are available then the passport sized photograph provided should be signed by a responsible person (e.g. church minister, line manager) with the statement “I certify this is <name of person>” and three documents from Group 2 provided.

Group 2 – Address Verification

• Bank or building society statement
• Two non-consecutive utility bills with current address
• Credit or store card statement
• Financial statement (e.g. mortgage, ISA)
• Correspondence from Benefits Agency, Employment Service, Inland Revenue or Local Authority
• Pension or other Benefit Book
• Visa
• Work permit

Each of the documents from this group must be less than 3 months old and show your current address.

If the applicant does not have the required documentation for visual ID, then they should supply a passport sized photograph and a letter signed by a responsible person (eg church minister, line manager) with a statement along the lines of: “I certify that <name of person>, residing at <full address> has been known to me for <x> years.”

STEP THREE

The authorised staff at Volunteer Centre Fife will then check the identity, complete and sign the Visual Identity Validation Form and staple your passport sized picture to the form in the box provided. Volunteer Centre Fife then posts the form and photograph to CRBS.

Please note that you still require to post your original ID documentation, along with your completed application (in black or dark blue ink) and a cheque for £5.00 (to cover postage and packaging for the return of your documentation) to CRBS in Stirling.

CRBS cannot be held responsible for your documents going missing via Royal Mail and strongly recommends that you send your documentation using Special Delivery.

The Trusted Partner scheme allows the visual ID to be carried out at a site close to you and saves you the inconvenience of having to travel to Stirling.

CRBS will match the form and passport photograph with all the other registration documentation and process the Disclosure check.

Registration Application

The application forms (CRBS Form 1 and Disclosure Application Form), must be completed in black or dark blue ink, and the following pieces of documentation need to be enclosed with your application:

• Birth Certificate
• Passport ( UK or other country)
• Driving licence 
• Child Protection Policy and/or Vulnerable Adult Policy 
• Policy on Rehabilitation of Ex Offenders
• Policy on Secure Handling, Use, Storage and Retention of Disclosure Information
• Leaflets, brochures etc. describing the purpose of the organisation
• The structure of the organisation and details of the Management Committee
• Funding details

Please note that the Application Form is scanned and therefore requires to be correctly completed with all information and no corrections.