A safeguarding gap?
Accredited Registers have found it hard to access criminal record checks for their registrants. This has meant a gap in checks for registrants who are self-employed. This page provides information about work we are doing to address this.
Accredited Registers pilot
In March 2022 we launched a pilot scheme aimed at addressing the current gap in checks of self-employed Accredited Register practitioners. We launched the scheme in conjunction with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP), one of our Accredited Registers.
This pilot, along with the Government’s own review, looked at how safeguards can be strengthened for people seeking treatment from unregulated, self-employed health and care workers.
The pilot included DBS checks for self-employed practitioners registered with the ACP. It meant an enhanced with barred list checks for a small, randomly selected sample of self-employed registrants on the ACP's register.
We have used the pilot to help us understand the circumstances in which Accredited Registers can make these checks.
Our safeguarding consultation
In late 2022 we launched a consultation on strengthening safeguarding requirements for Accredited Registers to access criminal records checks. The consultation closed on 7 February 2023. We have now published the outcome of that consultation along with our plans for how we will take this work forward. You can find out more about the consultation here.
Wider PSA project
In July 2023, our Board decided to extend our safeguarding work to consider the arrangements for the statutory regulators. This will allow us to make sure we take a consistent approach. You can read more about the organisation-wide project here.