Criminal Records Bureau Letter

Tabulae Ltd

December addressed to the Home Office Direct

Communications Unit, this has been passed to me for reply as Chief Executive of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). I am also aware that you have written directly to CRB Customer Services regarding this matter and trust you will accept this as a response to both pieces of correspondence.

I will address your points in the order in which you have raised them.

• a)    You are correct in your assertion that it is for the recruiting organisation to decide whether a Disclosure is required for a particular position, whether paid or voluntary, and to ensure such a check is done if it is deemed necessary. They will also decide what level of check is appropriate.
• b)    Many recruiting organisations will pay for the cost of the Disclosure, others will ask the applicant to meet the cost. Disclosures for volunteers remain free of charge.
• c)    It is for the recruiting organisation, bearing in mind their legal and other responsibilities, to decide whether they will accept an existing Disclosure or whether a new Disclosure must be applied for. A Disclosure is specific to the position applied for and therefore many recruiting organisations will request a new Disclosure.
• d)    It is possible that an individual will be required to apply for several Disclosures a year if they work in several different positions which require Disclosures. As explained above, this is dependent on the decisions made by the recruiting organisations.
• e)    I cannot advise you whether you should use your accreditees' subscription fees to become an Umbrella Body. However, I am aware that Tabulae have previously applied to become an Umbrella Body but that the application was rejected on the grounds that Tabulae was not acting as an employer, recruitiment agency or regulatory body, therefore was not entitled to ask an exempted question.

An exempted question is being allowed, by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, to ask a person to reveal spent and unspent convictions in order to assess their suitability for a position of employment. Only those positions and types of work included in the Exception Order (1975) to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 are eligible for Disclosures.

To summarise, it is for the organisations that recruit your accreditees to decide whether the position requires them to apply for a Disclosure and whether they will be required to meet the cost of the Disclosure.

I hope that this has helped to clarify matters.

Yours sincerely,

Vince Gaskell

Chief Executive