Meetings/2009-08-05/Agenda/CRB & Child Protection

From my discussions with CC and reading up, if there are to be members (even just one,) in our organisation that would be having regular contact with vulnerable people, they and all the trustees would need to have CRB checks done. With regards to the transferrability of CRB's. The Chapter must hold a copy of the CRB that must come from the previous organisation. A copy of a personal CRB would not really suffice. It is all to do with the duty of care we have as trustees and that we should do everything in our power to ensure trustee's and employees are suitable to work with vulnerabl people. All though there is no legal requirement as our benefactors are the general public, as you can see below, where the CC uses phrases like recommend, suggest, and should, they consider it to be a requirement, albeit not a legal one.

Quote 1

We strongly recommend that charities working with vulnerable people, with positions which are eligible to obtain Disclosures from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), should do so.

Quote 2

Trustees of charities working with children or vulnerable adults should also make additional, more detailed checks, by obtaining a Disclosure from the CRB. We strongly recommend that trustees of charities that can obtain CRB checks take advantage of this option, to ensure both that the person they wish to appoint as a trustee is eligible and to ensure the safety of the charity's beneficiaries. There are some charities that must carry out these checks. You can find more information in section F6.

Quote 3

All charity trustees have a duty of care and a duty to act solely in the interests of the charity. The Commission believes that charity trustees risk being in breach of these duties if they fail, without good reason, to carry out appropriate CRB checks when they are entitled to do so. In some circumstances, such failures may be viewed as evidence of misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.

Quote 4

CRB checks are currently the best way for trustees to check whether a fellow trustee is disqualified from working with vulnerable beneficiaries. For this reason the Commission’s policy is that trustees:

• must obtain a CRB Disclosure when there is a legal requirement to do so; and
• should obtain a CRB Disclosure when there is a legal entitlement to.

Quote 5

Charities should recheck trustees, including trustees who were originally appointed by the Commission, and others in relevant positions, every three years.