(a)

the role of the DBS was to help employers make safe recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people working with vulnerable groups. The Council’s DBS policy had been presented to the Committee previously and in light of comments by Members had been reconsidered. Officers had started with the law and built the policy from there;

(b)

a training session was arranged for elected members in December and was relatively well attended – a further session to be arranged in the near future. The aim of the session was to provide Councillors with the legal framework within which DBS checks operated and the differing levels of check and what they may contain;

(c)

there were four levels of DBS checks available: the basic check which anybody could apply for and that could be paid for online, the standard check, an enhanced check with a barring list, and an enhanced check without a barring list. Of those four levels of checks, two were applicable to Members – the  enhanced check without a barring list and the basic DBS check;

(d)

Councillors would be eligible for the enhanced check when they were undertaken specific duties included in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, the relevant exceptions order under the Police Act 1997. To be eligible they would need to be performing a role which made decisions upon social services functions for the authority (regulated activity).  The requirements for the enhanced DBS check would be those Councillors sitting on the Corporate Parenting Group, because essentially they are undertaken us the council statutory function as corporate parents, and Councillor on the Cabinet Committee because they had direct decision making around the delivery of social care services;

(e)

in terms of the basic DBS check, there was eligibility requirements under the law for this check, and Councillors would be able to make their own application. This check was not included within this policy, mandatory DBS checks or basic DBS checks for Councillors, because the law would prevent the Council from enforcing that mandatory check. Essentially, the Council could ask all Members to complete the check and they would be well within their rights to refuse it;

(f)

previously the Lord Mayor had been subject to DBS checks because of their contact with young people and vulnerable groups, however it was considered that the position would be deemed to have an incidental contact with vulnerable groups, and therefore would not be eligible for any other any other check, other than a basic check – this had not been included in the policy as it could not be enforced;

(g)

it was highlighted that political groups could mandate basic checks for their Members, but that was entirely dependent on the groups’ rules – if this happened then an offer was made to maintain a database and display information upon Councillors profiles if requested.

(h)

there was limited access as to who was eligible to view the DBS report; this included the Chief Executive, the Monitoring Officer and the Head of Governance, Performance and Risk;

(i)

in terms of viewing the DBS check, if there was an issue highlighted that affected safety then it was considered that the Councillor would need to removed from the undertaking of that role. DBS checks would be carefully monitored and should there be a risk then immediate action would be taken;

(j)

the Council was trying to interpret the law designed for employers prior to appointment. Traditionally, the Leader exercised discretion in appointing a Cabinet and therefore it was expected that the process undertaken would involve a conversation between the Chief Executive, the Monitoring Officer and the appointing member (The Leader in the case of the Cabinet), where the sensitivities of that issue would be discussed, and there would be an option to address that situation based on the information that had been disclosed;

(k)

an addendum to the Disclosure and Barring Checks for Councillors Policy would be written to specify how the process for reviewing, discussing and managing DBS checks would take place – the addendum to the policy would be created in conjunction with the Audit and Governance Committee.

1.

that an addendum to the Disclosure and Barring Checks for Councillors Policy would be written to specify how the process for reviewing, discussing and managing DBS checks would take place – the addendum to the policy would be created in conjunction with the Audit and Governance Committee;

2.

to approve the Disclosure and Barring Checks for Councillors Policy.