The ISA have issued a Media Release informing employers that time is running out for them to prepare for new Vetting & Barring Scheme

• Employers running out of time to prepare for new Vetting & Barring Scheme
• For the first time if you knowingly or unknowingly employ someone without the proper ISA/CRB checks you will be liable
• 9 million people or over one third of the UK’s working population will need to register
• Leaders of organisations will be criminally liable if they don’t conform to new Act
• Thousands of HR departments must change staff recruitment and employment policies
• New book will demystify government Vetting & Barring Scheme for employers

Authors Barry Clark and Ian Phillips have produced the first practical guide to the government’s controversial new Vetting and Barring Scheme which becomes law in July 2010. Vetting and Barring– A practical guide to the new CRB/ISA scheme, has been published in record time to give the many thousands of organisations and individuals who will have to master the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)/ Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) scheme time to prepare.

By the time the scheme is fully operational in 2015, over nine million people will have to be registered. Organisations will have to check all their employees and change their employment policies and recruitment practices to avoid committing a host of new crimes. Clark, former Superintendent of the Metropolitan Police Force and a leading UK expert in vetting and Criminal Records Bureau checks explains that the scheme’s goal is to close the kind of cracks which allowed Ian Huntley’s potential for crime to be missed.

“The 2004 Bichard Report following the Soham murders clearly showed the current system was reactive to harmful behaviour rather than proactive in preventing it. The new system addresses many failings of the previous scheme but creates many new challenges for every organisation involved with children and vulnerable adults. Responsibility now lies with the employer. For the first time if you knowingly or unknowingly employ someone without the proper ISA/CRB checks you will be liable,” says Clark.

This is the first book of its kind designed to help any organisation dealing with children or vulnerable adults, the self-employed, legal and HR advisers, and those who have traditionally carried out CRB checks. It explains how the scheme will apply in the workplace and delivers valuable insights into some likely impacts.

Clark, continues; “My work has made me very aware of the issues the new scheme will create, as well as the massive managerial time and cost implications for employers and their accreditation agencies. The average employee cost for a ISA/CRB check will be £80 generating around £277m by 2015 for the Government scheme. This book provides an early warning system to some of the more serious challenges in the new scheme by providing an easily accessible information source for the numerous companies asking us and others for help.”

Vetting and Barring looks at the new scheme from several angles. After reviewing the current system and its deficiencies, it explains the core provisions and key terms. ‘Impact on Employers’ analyses some of the more demanding situations employers will face and suggests possible approaches. ‘Getting Registered’ looks at the challenges facing the various organisations who will be involved in registration. ‘Referrals’ navigates the potential minefield when the authorities must be notified of a potential risk. Finally, ‘Vetting and Checking’ provides advice and guidance on all aspects of screening prospective employees.

Co-author, Ian Phillips, a former law publisher, now writer and communications consultant concludes: “It was while contemplating the impact of the scheme on the sixth form college where I am Chair of the governors that I began to realise there was a real need for practical advice and guidance. The intention with our book is to give every organisation that thinks it might be affected, an opportunity well before the scheme starts, to understand and plan for its full impact.”

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Note to editors:

For more information, request a review copy or to reach the authors please contact: Janet or Barry Weitz at Smoking Gun Books by e-mail at janetweitz@smokinggunbooks.com or barryweitz@smokinggunbooks.com or by phone on 020 8446 8070.

The audiences for Vetting and Barring are many and varied, including local authorities and their contractors; nurseries, schools and colleges; hospitals, clinics and surgeries; care and residential homes; dentists and opticians; regulatory bodies; registered and umbrella bodies; HR and safeguarding professionals; nannies, domestic workers and private tutors; contractors to education, health and care providers; juvenile detention centres, specialist lawyers, prison administrators.

Barry Clark and Ian Phillips are available for interview and/or would welcome the opportunity to write an article or provide comment about the Vetting and Barring Scheme.

Smoking Gun Books is a new publisher building a niche in practical books for businesses and individuals. A copy of the book can be obtained direct from the Vetting and Barring Microsite http://vettingandbarring.info or http://smokinggunbooks.com

Published: January 18th 2010 ISBN: 978-0-9552661-6-4 Pages: c.114 Price: £15

Barry Clark attained the rank of Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police Service. Having held various operational leadership positions, he commanded the 999 Central Communications Complex at New Scotland Yard before retiring after thirty years service. Since leaving the Metropolitan Police, Barry has developed vetting and checking business Cataphract to the level where he is a trusted adviser to private contractors running highly sensitive detention centres and other similar facilities. He supports and advises many hundreds of organisations needing CRB checks on their staff, helping them interpret disclosures and manage the process smoothly and efficiently.

Ian Phillips graduated in law from the University of London and went on to edit legal encyclopædias and practice manuals for lawyers and other professionals. He has since built a successful practice in strategic communications consultancy and writing, creating executive speeches, websites and reports for a wide variety of clients. While advising Cataphract, Ian developed a deep interest in Vetting and Barring as he contemplated its potential impact on the sixth form college where he is Chair of Governors. Ian also sits on a panel advising the Government on improving communications with colleges.

This press release was distributed via SourceWire, a service from Daryl Willcox Publishing, on behalf of Campbell Communications. For more information visit http://www.dwpub.com/pressreleasewires