The Scout Association is aware of today’s stories in the media highlighting the new regulations designed to protect young people that will come into place over the next 18 months. These procedures are being moved forward by the newly created Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). For many months we have been working with the ISA and the Home Office to make sure this scheme, which is designed to protect young people, is implemented in an efficient manner. Indeed many of the recently revised appointment processes have been designed with this new system in mind.

Impact on parents
A number of media reports have suggested that parents who make arrangements with their neighbours to drive children to Scout meetings will need to register with the scheme. This is not true.

The facts are these:

• Currently there is no change from the system we operate where all adults who work on behalf of the Movement and have unsupervised access need to complete a CRB check.
• Registration will take place from July 2010 for new volunteers to the Movement. At this stage it is anticipated that existing adults working with the Movement will have five years to register.
• If a parent or other adult who has regular contact with a Scout Group (e.g. Occasional Helper) has contact with our Members they will need to be registered with the scheme.
• The ISA has defined what this type of contact means. Specifically it is:

1.          More than once a month

2.          Three or more occasions in a 30 day period(e.g. at one specific event)

3.          Overnight (which means between 02.00 and 06.00)

• Parents who make informal private arrangements with their friends and neighbours to take their children to Scout meetings in their own cars are specifically excluded from this scheme.
• All adults in Scouting who have unsupervised access to youth Members are currently required to undergo a CRB records check and hold a valid disclosure certificate.
• This ISA registration process will be free for volunteers. It is likely that the new registration process will be very similar to the current process of obtaining a criminal records disclosure.

We are working with the ISA to implement this scheme over the next 18 months. More detailed information will be published in 2010.

The service will extend to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, although arrangements for application and appeals may differ slightly in Northern Ireland.

A separate but aligned scheme is being set up in Scotland under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.

For further information please contact the Scout Information Centre on 0845 300 1818.

Hope this clears things up and puts a few minds at rest!!