Employers are being urged to review their DBS checking procedures following the introduction of lower fees, just weeks after an important change to the rules around working with children to improve safeguarding.
On Monday 5 October, the government fee for an Enhanced DBS check in England and Wales fell from £49.50 to £41. Fees for Basic and Standard checks fell from £21.50 to £20, while the annual DBS Update Service subscription fee fell from £16 to £15.
For an organisation carrying out 100 paid Enhanced DBS checks a year, the change could save £850 in government fees alone.
Rachel Bedgood, founder and CEO of Complete Background Screening (CBS), says the reduction will be welcomed by employers, but there is another recent change they need to be aware of.
“The reduction in DBS fees is good news, particularly for organisations carrying out hundreds or even thousands of checks each year, because those savings can add up quickly,” Rachel said.
“However, there has also been an important change to the rules around regulated activity with children, and some employers may not yet have looked at what that means for them.”
Since September, the definition of regulated activity with children has changed in England and Wales, with the previous supervision exemption removed. Previously, people who are not regularly involved in activities with children did not need to be DBS checked if they were supervised by somebody who was cleared. That has now changed.
Some roles previously outside regulated activity solely because the person was sufficiently supervised now fall within the definition, where the relevant activity and frequency criteria are met. These roles are eligible for an Enhanced DBS check, which includes an additional check against the Children’s Barred List.
The new rules state that: If a person teaches, trains, instructs, cares for or supervises children often enough, or overnight, they will be in regulated activity with children even if someone else supervises them. This means an organisation will be able to ask for an Enhanced DBS check in the child workforce with a Children’s Barred List check.”
This means the work is done often enough, or overnight, if it occurs:
- on more than three days in any 30-day period
- once overnight, between 2am and 6am
Organisations now must:
- identify roles where people teach, train, instruct, care for, or supervise children and are currently supervised by someone else in regulated activity
- check if the activity is done often enough or overnight
- check if the person’s current DBS certificate includes a Children’s Barred List check
- decide if a new Enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List information is needed in line with sector-specific guidance
- update recruitment, volunteering and safeguarding steps to include the change.
- If a person’s role changes, or the way they do the role changes, organisations must check DBS eligibility again.
The change will affect paid staff and volunteers across schools, childcare settings, sports clubs, faith groups, youth organisations, charities and other organisations working with children.
“It doesn’t mean automatically putting everyone through another DBS check,” Rachel said.
“Employers still need to assess each role properly and understand what level of check they are legally entitled to request.
“This is a good opportunity to look at which roles may have been affected by the September change, as well as reviewing your wider re-screening policy and whether the Update Service could be useful.”
DBS certificates do not have an official expiry date, and there is no single rechecking period that applies to every organisation, so CBS recommends employers take a risk-based approach to re-screening while following any applicable sector-specific requirements.
“Making sure you are requesting the right check for the right role is an important part of protecting your organisation and the people you work with,” Rachel said.
Complete Background Screening (CBS) is one of the UK’s leading employment screening specialists, helping organisations recruit safely, compliantly and with confidence. Founded by CEO Rachel Bedgood in 2005, the Mountain Ash-based company now carries out more than one million DBS and employment checks every year for around 40,000 organisations across the UK. To find out more, visit the website.
