The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Prescribed Criteria) (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

These Regulations prescribe the criteria which are to have effect for the purposes of Articles 3(7) and 5(7) of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Transitional Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2008 (“the TPO”). Anyone meeting these criteria will not be given the right to make representations as to their inclusion under the TPO in the barred lists (these are the lists established and maintained by the Independent Barring Board (“IBB”) under Article 6 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (“the Order”)).

The criteria will apply only in the case of people whom IBB is required to include in those lists under the TPO (see regulations 3 and 4). They will be people who, at the point at which they are referred to IBB by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety or the Department of Education, are included in the lists maintained under Article 3 or 35 of the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 (“the 2003 Order”), who are subject to a disqualification order under Article 23 or 24 of the 2003 Order or who are included in the list kept for the purposes of the Education (Prohibition from Teaching or Working with Children) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007.

The criteria are that a person has been convicted of, or cautioned in relation to, an offence set out in the Schedule to these Regulations, or a connected offence, which that person committed in any applicable circumstances that may be prescribed in the Schedule in relation to the commission of that offence (see regulation 2(3)). Where no circumstances are prescribed in relation to the commission of an offence, the criteria are met in any case where a person is convicted of, or cautioned in relation to, the offence in question. A connected offence is an offence of attempting, conspiring, or incitement to commit, or aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission of, an offence set out in the Schedule (regulation 2(1)).

The offence must have been committed within the period of 10 years ending on the day that the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety or the Department of Education refers the individual to IBB (regulations 3 and 4). The effect of regulation 2(4) is that, where an offence has been committed over a period of time, it will be treated as having been committed on the last day of that period.