The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales
Link to main consultation paper
Link to main consultation annexes
Charity trustees are the people who have the ultimate responsibility for running charities. In some cases they work directly with those the charity is set up to help, its beneficiaries. Trustees have a duty of care to their beneficiaries and this is particularly important for charities working with children or vulnerable adults.
The Charity Commission is the independent regulator for the 190,000 charities registered in England and Wales.
The Charity Commission has always said that it is the responsibility of a charity’s trustees to make sure that all trustees are fit to act as such. To fulfil their duties to their beneficiaries this includes ensuring that Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks are carried out where they are available (in some cases they are also required by law).
Checks we have undertaken suggest that not all charities with vulnerable beneficiaries are regularly undertaking CRB checks on trustees and in some cases are unaware of their responsibilities in this area. This consultation reviews our policy and also covers particular issues about new charities registering with the Commission.
In 2006 we became aware that the charity registration system for identifying trustees that might pose a danger to vulnerable beneficiaries needed review. As a precaution we strengthened our requirements, asking charities with vulnerable beneficiaries applying for registration to prove that their trustees had been through satisfactory CRB checks by supplying us with disclosures from the CRB.
This is an interim policy and it has now been in place for over six months. We are consulting with charities to see what impact our policy has had on charities, to help us put in place an appropriate final policy. This leaflet explains more about CRB checks and the consultation.
The law covering checks carried out by the CRB is very complex. Each charity and its trustees must find out if they are legally entitled and/or legally required to obtain CRB disclosures. If in doubt they should seek advice, eg from a solicitor.
Because CRB disclosures can reveal sensitive personal information, they can only legally be undertaken in specific circumstances where the position allows contact with, or influence over, vulnerable people.
There are some specific legal requirements which mean that CRB checks must be carried out for some trustee positions. In broad terms where it is a legal requirement for checks to be carried out, it is because there is a higher level of access to or control over the beneficiaries. These are:
There are two types of CRB check and the type needed will depend on the nature of the trustee’s position. These types are:
Standard CRB check – these disclose all convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer; and
Enhanced CRB check – these are carried out for positions where there is a greater degree of contact with children or vulnerable adults. These provide the same information included in a standard check plus additional checking of local police force records.
Checks on whether an individual is barred from working with vulnerable groups
The CRB can also look at three lists held by Government departments to find out if a person has been barred from working in certain positions:
The trustee who is to be checked must complete and sign an application to the CRB to make the disclosure. This must then be countersigned by a representative of an organisation which is registered with the CRB, known as a 'registered body'. Both the trustee concerned and the registered body will receive the subsequent disclosure.
Because registered bodies have to undertake to process a certain number of requests every year and to follow certain procedures set out by the CRB, it isn’t practical for most charities to be registered bodies themselves. A lot of charities therefore use a third party registered body, known as an 'umbrella body', to undertake the checks for them. In this case the charity can decide whether it wants to receive the CRB disclosure or whether it wants the umbrella body to interpret the information on its behalf.
As well as seeking views on the Commission’s interim policy on CRB checks for trustees, the consultation explains that the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 will bring about further changes. This work is being led by the Department for Education and Skills. Although the detail of the new system is yet to be finalised we understand that changes will be phased in from late 2008.
Under this new system, individuals holding certain positions will have to apply to be subject to monitoring by the CRB. This will make it easier to regularly monitor people working with vulnerable groups. It is likely that the application process will be online and will only need to be completed once per person. This system may be extended to charity trustees and if so we hope it will reduce the administrative burden involved in undertaking CRB checks. We will provide more information about this as plans to implement the system are finalised.
Our consultation with charities includes the following types of questions:
If you would like a full copy of our consultation paper, see the 'Criminal Records Bureau checks of trustees of charities' page on our website.
The consultation starts on 14 February 2007 and will close on 11 May 2007. We intend to publish a summary of the responses to the consultation within three months of the closing date.