CRB Umbrella Disclosure Service
       

Background
Caring Hands Charity has been registered with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) as an umbrella body since 2004. We comply with the CRB Code of Practise, under the provisions of the Code, sensitive personal information is handled and stored appropriately and kept for only as long as is necessary. Once the retention period has elapsed, the Disclosure information is suitably destroyed by secure means.

Disclosure Applications
A Disclosure is a document containing information held by the police and government departments. Disclosures may be used by employers and voluntary organisations, to help make safer recruitment decisions. Disclosures are provided by the Criminal Records Bureau an executive agency of the home office. More detailed CRB Disclosure information is available by visiting their website at www.disclosure.gov.uk

Levels of Disclosure
We offer two levels of Disclosure, Standard and Enhanced.

Standard Disclosures are primarily for posts that do not involve close contact with children or vulnerable adults, they may be issued for people entering certain professions, such as members of the legal and accountancy professions. The standard Disclosure contains details of all convictions held on the Police National Computer including current and ‘spent’ convictions as well as details of any cautions, reprimands or final warnings.
If a position involves contact with children, the Disclosure will indicate whether information is held on government department lists, held by the DfES and the DH, of those who are banned from working with children. The Disclosure also includes information held by the DH of those considered to be unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults.

Enhanced Disclosures are for posts involving a far greater degree of contact with children or vulnerable adults. In general the type of work will involve regularly caring for, supervising, training or being in sole charge of such people. Examples include, teachers, scout or guide leaders and day care staff. Enhanced Disclosures are also issued for certain statutory purposes such as gaming and lottery licences. In addition to the details contained in the standard Disclosure the enhanced Disclosure includes a check on local police records. Relevant additional information may be released and included in the Enhanced Disclosure, if such information is relevant, to the post an applicant is being considered for.

Charges
Caring Hands Charity charge £5.00 administration in all cases for each Disclosure application completed, including voluntary positions.
CRB charge £31.00 for a Standard Disclosure and £36.00 for an Enhanced Disclosure
There is no charge incurred from CRB for either level of Disclosure if the application relates to a voluntary position.

How To Access This Service
Organisations should complete a CRB Organisation Registration Form on line, once we receive this document we will contact the organisation to discuss their needs. Individuals not attached to a member organisation, should complete a General Enquiry Form or ring the office to arrange a suitable time to complete the application at the office.

Application Process
If the organisation you wish to work for has an account with Caring Hands Charity, then they may hold some original blank forms that have been supplied directly from us and these forms may be partially completed prior to arriving at the office. Individuals are asked to collect applications and complete at Caring Hands office. All applicants are asked to arrive before 2.30p.m. during our opening days, to allow a counter signatory to check the completed form and view Valid Documents before countersigning.

Application forms must be original and include the relevant reference number, no copy application forms will be accepted.

All charges must be paid prior to the document being, ‘signed off’ and posted to the bureau on the same day.

A record of the application will be kept for reference purposes and incase any problems arise during the disclosure procedure. Once the application arrives at the CRB they usually attend to them quickly and we have had completed Disclosures returned within 14 days, (that’s assuming everything has been completed correctly which is why we double check all forms before forwarding them)

As a registered body, Caring Hands Charity receive copies of all Disclosures, a copy of our policy on the secure storage, handling, use, retention and disposal of documents is available online or from Caring hands office. We normally hold our disclosure copies for a six months period after which time they are disposed of in accordance with our policy.

We advise member organisations to have written policies on the following:
• Recruitment of ex-offenders
• Secure storage, handling, use, retention and disposal of Disclosures and disclosure information

Sample policy statements can be viewed at www.disclosure.gov.uk or copies are available from Caring Hands Charity office. It is a requirement of the CRB that individuals/organisations should adhere to the policies in order to ensure compliance with the CRB Code of Practice.


Please see Valid Documents for identification purposes copies of documents can not be accepted.

Further information can be obtained by completing a CRB Organisation Registration Form or a using the links, we aim to contact you within three working days, to discuss your needs and offer you further details and advice. We’d be happy to speak with you in person at Caring Hands Office or telephone 0191 261 5234 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday between 10.00am and 3.30pm at Caring Hands Charity Office.