Disclosure News May 2009
The newsletter for all new developments in the
Disclosure service.
Issue 73 May 2009
Welcome to May's edition of Disclosure News: the
newsletter for all new developments in the Disclosure
service.
To view Disclosure News in a different format,
view the PDF version (new window).
This month:
Editorial
Welcome to the May edition of Disclosure News. In this edition
we have the results of our Customer Satisfaction survey.
We also have details of the new CRB Business Plan and
information on the e-Bulk launch
E-Bulk goes live!
In April, we officially launched our e-Bulk application channel,
with Girlguiding UK
becoming the first electronic Registered Body (e-RB) to adopt the service. Early
indications are that things are going well with some e-Bulk
applications being turned around within three working days.
Annually the CRB completes more than 3.5
million checks against criminal records and lists of those barred
from working with the vulnerable. Fifty percent of those
applications come from just 265 organisations. The e-Bulk service
is aimed at these larger volume customers who submit more than 3000
checks per year to offer them a more streamlined gateway to the
Disclosure service.
There are a total of 33 Registered Bodies that are interested in
using e-Bulk in the first phase and we are continuing to work
closely with each of these to ensure that they are ready to go
live. If things go as planned, we hope to have three more e-RBs by
the end of May and to have rolled out the service to the remainder
of those in Phase 1, by March 2010.
To date, a further 34 Registered Bodies have shown interest in
adopting the service after the launch of the Vetting and Barring
Scheme services in July 2010. The groundwork for the contact
programme with these Phase 2 stakeholders is currently under way.
If you would like further information, you can email eservices@crb.gsi.gov.uk
A 94% feeling of satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is at an all time high, which is a superb
testament to the CRB’s partnership with
Registered and Umbrella Bodies.
To help us find out what you think of our services, in 2002 the
CRB commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct a programme of research
including an annual satisfaction survey. Since the first survey
there has been consistent improvement in satisfaction levels and
the results of the seventh survey have broken records once
again!
The Customer Satisfaction & Impact Survey 2008 found that
nearly 19 out of 20 organisational customers (94%) are now
‘satisfied’ with the CRB service and, even better, a third (37%) of
organisational customers are ‘very satisfied’.
Mark Favager, Head of Customer Service, says:
“Since the first survey was carried out, there has been a
gradual and consistent improvement in customer satisfaction levels.
Every year you raise the bar in terms of your needs and
expectations – our job is to deliver against these.
“Our Call Centre team has made another year-on-year
improvement with 92% of customers being satisfied with the service
that they provide. Whilst satisfaction levels across all of our
services are once again at a record high, you have said that we
must not take our eye off the ball and focus our efforts on
providing a quicker service.”
In terms of our planned enhancements to our online offering –
the future also looks bright. More than 8 out of 10 of you (82%)
said you would use an online application form and 7 out of 10
(70%), would use the e-Bulk service that the CRB has recently
launched. This tells us that we are on the right track to meeting
your future needs.
Mark says:
“Over the next 12 months we will focus in on those areas
which make you dissatisfied, such as customer care and timeliness
and quality, so that we can improve these results even further next
year.”
It’s good news, too, for this very publication, which
remains the second most preferred channel at 27% for you to be
informed about changes to the CRB service. 91% of you rate it as an
‘informative’ communication tool with 42% rating it as ‘very
informative’.
When it comes to improving our communication channels we are
already building on satisfaction levels with regard to the CRB
website. The 2008 report says almost 9 out of 10 customers (88%)
who had accessed the website were satisfied with it but, as we
reported in February, we are about to make further improvements to
make it even more user friendly.
Most importantly, your perception of the CRB has also continued
to improve with 83% of you saying CRB checks boost your ability to
protect children and vulnerable adults. It’s really positive that
72% of you would speak highly of CRB checks as a recruitment tool
and two-thirds (64%) would speak highly about the CRB as an
organisation.
“Add these results to our recent general public survey,
which said that nine out of ten people are in favour of CRB checks,
and we have received some very positive feedback in the last 12
months. These results confirm that the service the CRB and its
staff provide is valued, appreciated and necessary,” says
Mark.
The Customer Satisfaction & Impact Survey is carried out
independently through a random telephone sample of 300 Lead or
Countersignatories in Registered and Umbrella Bodies.
Passports – Don’t get confused
As part of your role in the Disclosure service, all
Countersignatories must ensure that a series of checks are carried
out to verify the identity of an applicant. This includes a
detailed check of the information provided on their application
form and examination of a range of identity documents, including
the most common ‘Group 1’ document, an applicant’s valid, current
and original passport.
All Registered Bodies should be aware that a fake ‘World
Passport’ can be purchased online by members of the public and
should not be confused with a genuine passport. Through research,
these ‘World Passports’ have been discovered by our Investigations
team and highlight the importance of conducting thorough
ID
checks on all CRB applicants.
Angie Geraghty, CRB Investigations Manager said:
“It’s extremely important to establish the true identity of
an applicant using the forms of identification that they provide in
line with the CRB guidance. If this is not done properly, it could
compromise the integrity of the Disclosure service.”
It’s vitally important that you don’t get confused during your
identity checking process. Make sure that you check all identity
documents thoroughly when verifying an applicant’s identity as
outlined in the guidance and as a key obligation in the CRB Code of
Practice. For all passports, including those from foreign
nationals, you should consider the following:
- The general quality and condition of the passport;
- Examine photographs closely;
- Examine the embossed strip embedded into the laminate.
If you are suspicious about the validity or origin of an
applicant’s passport or you are unsure about any part of the ID
checking process please refer to the
guidance.
In order to maintain the integrity of the service that the CRB
provides, failure to comply with the ID checking process could
result in a suspension or de-registration of a Countersignatory or
Registered Body.
CRB Business Plan
The publication of the CRB’s Business Plan for 2009/10 comes hot
on the heels of the record-breaking customer Satisfaction
Survey.
The new Business Plan highlights how we will tackle the
important challenges ahead and build on our successes to deliver
more benefits and service improvements to our customers over the
coming year.
Chief Executive, Steve Long, states that:
“The CRB’s Five Year Strategic goals have a strong customer
focus. Our 2009/10 Business Plan takes practical steps to deliver
on this aspiration.
“We will consolidate our current good performance but we
will also look to the future to ensure that our services meet
stakeholder and customer needs. We have listened to our customers
in terms of ensuring a well planned transition to the new Vetting
and Barring Scheme (VBS) and in this year’s plan we have committed
to a range of research and development work to determine what new
services are required and how they can be delivered.”
The new vision and goals are set out below and the full report
will be available to download from the CRB website; www.crb.gov.uk
Our vision of the future is one in which the CRB is trusted by
its stakeholders to support public protection and will be the
first-choice provider of comprehensive services for organisations
to assist informed recruitment decisions.
Strategic Goal 1
Provide information that meets the customer, public and
stakeholders’ requirements in quality, accuracy and timeliness.
Strategic Goal 2
Provide a customer focused service.
Strategic Goal 3
Build a capable, flexible and motivated organisation.
Strategic Goal 4
Deliver value for money services whilst remaining self
funding.
Strategic Goal 5
Provide a comprehensive range of public safety employment
vetting services to meet the needs of employers.
Steve adds:
“The Disclosure service is an end-to-end partnership of the
CRB, the Police and our stakeholders. We look forward to working
with them on the successful delivery of the plan.”
Overseas update - Turkey
As you are aware, the CRB cannot currently access
criminal records or any other relevant information from overseas as
part of the Disclosure service. Therefore, if you are employing
people from overseas, a CRB check may not provide a complete
picture of their criminal record.
As an additional measure and to help those who are recruiting
overseas applicants, we have a dedicated overseas section of our
website that provides guidance on obtaining information from 23
different countries.
Turkey is the most recent addition to the overseas suite of
guidance and was added to the website in March. The guidance
outlines that all foreign nationals who reside in the UK but have
worked or lived in Turkey can now apply to the Turkish Consulate
General in London to obtain a copy of their criminal record.
Individuals should provide the following documents and information
by post to Turkish Consulate General, Rutland Lodge, Rutland
Gardens, London, SW7 1BW:
On receipt of this information, the Turkish Consulate will
process the individual’s application and provide a Certificate of
Criminal Record to the individual within two months. The
certificate will include an individual’s previous convictions as
confirmed by Turkish or foreign courts and should be used only for
the purposes outlined on the application form.
If you would like more information on applications to Turkey and
other overseas countries, you can visit the overseas page of the
CRB website www.crb.gov.uk/overseas
PoVAFirst and the Independent Safeguarding Authority
As you will know, from January of this year the Independent
Safeguarding Authority (ISA) took over
responsibility for the making of barring decisions on new referrals
under the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) scheme.
Customers who request PoVAFirst checks will know that they are
only available in exceptional circumstances to allow a care worker
to start work in a care home, for a domiciliary care agency or as
an adult placement carer, before a full CRB check has been issued.
Such cases have strict criteria and are permissible only where
it is necessary to take such action because of a real danger that
staffing levels will fall below statutory obligations. The CRB
reply to a PoVAFirst check request will contain one of the
following responses and clearly state that it only forms the first
part of the Disclosure process and that further information will
follow:
- OPTION 1: ‘Registered Body must wait for the
full Disclosure’.
- OPTION 2: ‘No match exists for this person on
the current PoVA list’.
If the reply is Option 1, the details provided may have revealed
a potential match to those of a person held on the PoVA list .
Therefore you must wait for a full Disclosure as the search of the
PoVA list is inconclusive and further investigations are required
to determine whether the person is or is not on the list.
Unfortunately ISA has received a number of enquires for more
information following a PoVAFirst reply that advises that the
customer must await the full Disclosure. ISA are not able to
process these requests and we would ask PoVAFirst customers to
refrain from contacting the ISA in these circumstances.
The Home Office and CRB are working to develop a system that
will replace the current POVAFirst service offered by the CRB with
an equivalent service from the 12 October 2009. This corresponds
with the creation of the two new ISA barred lists that will replace
the current POVA and POCA lists and List 99.
CRB Contacts
Address
PO
Box 110
Liverpool L69 3EF
Information line: 0870 90 90 811
Registration line: 0870 90 90 822
Disputes
line: 0870 90 90 778
Welsh line: 0870 90 90 223
Application line: 0870 90 90 844
Minicom line: 0870 90 90 344
Website: www.crb.gov.uk
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