(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (Disclosure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (“the 2008 Regulations”) to give effect to the changes affecting regulated and controlled activity concerning children and vulnerable adults under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 which were made by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“the 2012 Act”). The 2012 Act has reduced the scope of the definition of regulated activity and has abolished the concept of controlled activity.
These Regulations also include an amendment setting out the circumstances where AccessNI may seek enhanced criminal record certificate information from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (“PSNI”).
Regulation 2(2) amends the current address based searching procedures to permit AccessNI to use procedures similar in effect to those followed under Part 5 of the Police Act 1997 by the Criminal Records Bureau in England and Wales and by Disclosure Scotland. This amendment limits the occasions when an application for an enhanced criminal record certificate is made to PSNI to those where PSNI appears to hold relevant information, the applicant resides in or has resided within a period of 5 years preceding the date of the application in the Republic of Ireland, or the application relates to work with children at the applicant’s home address in Northern Ireland.
Regulation 2(3), (4), (5), and (6) makes provision for the continued eligibility of persons who were previously in regulated activities, which are no longer regulated work activities, or in controlled activities, which have been abolished, to apply for enhanced criminal record certificates in respect of those previous work activities.
Regulation 2(7) enables an application for an enhanced criminal record certificate to be made for the purpose of assessing the applicant’s suitability to work in regulated activity relating to the provision for the representation of or advocacy services for vulnerable adults.
Regulation 2(8) and (9) sets out the amended cases involving regulated work activities with children and vulnerable adults where applications can be made for suitability information.
These Regulations come into operation on 10th September 2012.