The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This is the fifth Commencement Order made under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (“the Act”). Article 2 brings into force section 2 of the Act for the purposes of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Transitory Provisions) Order 2008 (“the Transitory Order”), as well as related provisions in Schedule 3 to the Act, which makes provision relating to barring. These provisions relate to the maintenance of a children’s barred list and an adults’ barred list and the process by which a person may be included in, or removed from, either list.

Article 2 also brings section 5 and Schedule 4 into force in full, providing the definition of regulated activity for the purposes of the Act, as well as bringing into force section 53, which defines, and makes provision relating to, fostering (once section 3 of the Act is in force, a person who is included in one of the barred lists will be barred from engaging in the regulated activity to which the list relates; by virtue of paragraph 1(5) of Schedule 4, fostering is regulated activity relating to children).

In addition, article 2 brings into force sections 37, 40, 42 and 46 of the Act, which impose duties on various persons to provide information to the Independent Barring Board (“IBB”) at the IBB’s request (the IBB is established under section 1 of the Act), together with section 57, which makes provision relating to damages where a person has suffered loss or damage in consequence of an individual being included in a barred list, or of the provision of information in pursuance of duties including those mentioned above.

Article 2 also brings into force in relation to England amendments to the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c. 30). These amendments will have the effect that some people whose cases would formerly have been referred to the Secretary of State will now be referred to the General Teaching Council for England.

Finally, article 2 brings into force sections 28 and 29, which amend the Police Act 1997 (c. 50) in relation to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Section 28 places the post of Independent Monitor of relevant police information, disclosed as part of the Criminal Records Bureau’s Enhanced Disclosure process, on a statutory footing and applies similar provisions to relevant police information to be provided to the IBB. The Monitor plays a vital role in ensuring that an individual’s right to privacy and family life, in accordance with Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, is not infringed arbitrarily or unnecessarily. Section 29 extends the remit of the code of practice required to be published under section 122 of the Police Act and also broadens the range of options at the disposal of the Secretary of State in the event that a person or body fails to comply with the code.