Allied Health Professions: disclosure guidance

4 Types Of Disclosure

4.1 Disclosure Documents

Requests for criminal record disclosures are managed by Disclosure Scotland. The disclosure document can contain information held by the police and government bodies which can be used by employers to inform safer recruitment decisions.

The information included in the disclosure will depend on the type of disclosure applied for. Disclosure information could include:

• Details of criminal records
• Information about a person's inclusion on children's or adults' lists
• Other relevant information provided by police forces
• Or state that there is no information

4.2 Different Types of Disclosure

There are 4 types of checks provided by Disclosure Scotland and the type of disclosure document required depends on the voluntary or paid work being conducted. The types are:

• Basic Disclosure
• Standard Disclosure
• Enhanced Disclosure
• Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme record

4.2.1 Basic Disclosure

A basic disclosure certificate is the most common type of disclosure available. A basic disclosure is a criminal record check. A basic disclosure certificate shows any 'unspent' criminal convictions an individual may have. Unspent means it needs to declared. Applications for basic disclosure will be processed according to the Scottish rules under the Rehabilitation periods for particular sentences section of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 . Most people apply online for a basic disclosure for themselves.

Spent convictions are not disclosed on basic disclosures. However, some spent convictions have to be disclosed on higher level disclosures. Standard disclosure, enhanced disclosure and PVG scheme disclosures are known as higher level disclosures.

If you have a higher level disclosure*, your certificate will show: all unspent convictions, spent convictions for offences that are disclosed according to rules and offences that must be disclosed. You can apply to have certain spent convictions removed. If you have a spent conviction for an offence that is disclosed according to rules, or for an offence that must be disclosed (and the necessary time has passed), you can apply to have it removed.

In the event you feel the information on any certificate issued is incorrect this can also be reviewed as part of the current Disclosure Scotland dispute procedure.

*The conviction information shown on higher level disclosure certificates is decided by law. This law is the Police Act 1997, Schedules 8A and 8B. These were updated on 19 December 2022

4.2.2 Higher Level Disclosure

Standard & Enhanced and the PVG scheme record (see 4.2.3 below)

Higher level disclosures, namely Standard and Enhanced, are for people doing certain types of work or looking to adopt and they are applied for by a registered body (this may be the employer).

• Standard Disclosure is for roles such as solicitors and accountants
• Enhanced Disclosure applies to specific roles such as checking people are suitable for adoption, or gambling licences

On higher level disclosures the certificate will show:

• All unspent convictions;
• Certain spent convictions that must always be disclosed;
• Other spent convictions disclosed subject to rules;
• A spent conviction for an offence that is not on either the list of offences that must always be disclosed or offences which are disclosed subject to rules, will not usually be disclosed on a higher level disclosure; and
• Whether the applicant is required to register under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

The enhanced disclosure and the PVG scheme record can also contain Other Relevant Information (ORI).

4.2.3 Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme

The Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme was established by the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 and is for people doing regulated work with children and protected adults. Vulnerable groups are defined as:

• Children– an individual under 18 years of age.
• Protected adults – an individual aged 16 or over in receipt of 1 of 4 prescribed services i.e. registered care service, health care, community care service or welfare services.

The PVG scheme which delivers on the provision outlined in the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 is intended to:

• Help to ensure that those who do paid or unpaid regulated work with children and protected adults, do not have a known history of harmful behaviour.
• Reduce the need for PVG scheme members to complete a detailed application form every time a disclosure check is required.
• Strike a balance between proportionate protection and robust regulation and make it easier for employers to determine who should be checked to protect their client group.
• Create a portal for the individual, essentially for life. Records remain 'live' and employers will be notified if a scheme member's status changes, that is, if the person is either barred from doing regulated work or placed under formal consideration for listing. An employer will not be advised of changes to a scheme member's record, for example, a new conviction, if that change has no effect on the person's status.

In most cases, an organisation offering regulated work must apply on an individual's behalf for membership to the PVG scheme. The scheme membership statement is available to those offering personal employment and for the self-employed. It allows employers to satisfy themselves that an individual to whom they are offering regulated work is not barred from doing that type of work. PVG scheme membership is available if the individual will have responsibility for caring, teaching, instructing, providing guidance or assistance to protected adults or children. If PVG scheme membership is appropriate for the job it should be stated at the time of advertising, as the individual would be committing an offence by applying for regulated work from which they are already barred. It is unlawful for an application for PVG scheme membership to be used for posts that do not involve doing regulated work with protected adults or children. There is currently no legal requirement to be a part of the PVG scheme. This is subject to full implementation of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020.

PVG members are continuously monitored and if new vetting information is found which may indicate they are unsuitable to undertake regulated work, Disclosure Scotland will tell their employer.

Outcomes of the PVG Scheme

• If an individual is barred from doing regulated work with children and/or protected adults - They will be refused PVG Scheme Membership. This means they cannot work with the workforce they are barred with i.e. children or/and protected adults. It is an offence for a barred individual to do, or seek or agree to do regulated work from which they are barred.
• If an individual is not barred from doing regulated work with children and/or protected adults - A search will be carried out to check for vetting information (e.g. convictions, cautions, children's hearing findings, and other relevant information from the police).
• If there is no vetting information or it does not have a bearing on the individual's suitability to do regulated work - The PVG Scheme Membership certificate will be issued once an individual is a PVG Scheme Member. All PVG Scheme Members are subject to ongoing monitoring (continuous updating). This means that PVG Scheme Members' vetting information is kept up-to-date and if there is new information this will be assessed to determine if the Member is unsuitable to do regulated work with children and/or protected adults.

4.3 Disclosure of Spent Convictions

The decision about whether or not a spent conviction should be disclosed is determined by a two-stage process. Two lists of offences have been developed:

• Offences that must always be disclosed – if an offence is included on this list it will always be disclosed no matter how old the conviction is. The individual can make an application to a sheriff after a specified period of time to have the conviction removed. An application for removal of a conviction for an offence on this list can only be made once 15 years have passed from the date of the conviction if the person was 18 or over when convicted (or 7.5 years if the person was under 18 at the time of conviction).
• Offences that are disclosed according to rules – if an offence is on this list (and the conviction is spent) consideration will be given to the age of the conviction and the age of the person at the time of the conviction prior to disclosure.

4.3.1 Offences which are Disclosed Subject to Rules

For offences on the list offences that are disclosed according to rules, the age of the conviction will be taken into account, subject to the periods in the table below:

Age at Conviction	Period of Disclosure
18 Years or Older	15 years (no disclosure after 15 years)
Younger than 18 years	7 ½ years (no disclosure after 7 ½ years)

Where a spent conviction for an offence on this "subject to rules" list is still within the period of disclosure (15 years or 7 ½ years), then the disposal will also be taken into account. Convictions that result in no punishment or intervention will not be disclosed, that is any conviction from which the court imposes a sentence of admonishment or absolute discharge, or absolute discharge from a children's hearing. Spent cautions issued by the Police in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland will also not be disclosed.

If multiple offences form part of 1 conviction due to the way the offences were charged and recorded, the rules will apply to each offence and details related to each offence may be disclosed. Where an applicant for a higher level disclosure has multiple convictions on their record, the appropriate rehabilitation rules will be applied to establish what will be disclosed.

4.3.2 Applications for Removal of Offences

Individuals have the right to apply to a sheriff to seek to have spent convictions removed from the disclosure document or PVG scheme record in relation to offences that are spent and being disclosed in relation to both the 'offences which must always be disclosed' and the 'offences that are disclosed according to rules' list.

Summary Offence: normally carry a maximum sentence of 6 months' imprisonment, although certain offences such as vehicle interference have a lower maximum sentence of 3 months. Examples include: most motoring offences, minor criminal damage and common assault.

Indictable Offence: the most serious criminal offences. Examples include: murder, manslaughter, robbery and rape.

When a disclosure document highlights spent convictions listed on the offences which must always be disclosed list, in some cases these will be sent straight to the applicant and the counter signatory. However if a certain amount of time has passed, the disclosure document will be sent to the applicant but the copy for the counter signatory (employer) will be retained by Disclosure Scotland for 10 working days from the date on the disclosure document (working days are Monday-Friday).

These time period are: 15 years, if 18 or over at the date of conviction, or 7 years and 6 months if under 18 at the date of conviction.

When a disclosure document highlights spent convictions listed on the offences subject to rules list, the disclosure document will be sent to the applicant but the copy for the counter signatory (employer) will be retained by Disclosure Scotland for 10 working days from the date on the disclosure document (Email: HLC.Appeal@disclosurescotland.gov.scot">HLC.Appeal@disclosurescotland.gov.scot working days are Monday-Friday).

Please also see Applying to have spent convictions removed - mygov.scot

If the applicant does not contact Disclosure Scotland within the 10 working days to advise that they intend to submit an application to a Sheriff for an order to have the spent conviction information removed, then Disclosure Scotland will send out the counter signatory copy at the end of this 10 day period (no sooner than 11 working days after the date on the disclosure document). If the applicant contacts Disclosure Scotland during this 10 day period to make them aware that they intend to apply to a Sheriff, the application must then be made to the Sheriff within 3 months of that notification to Disclosure Scotland (or a new disclosure application will need to be made at this point and the process restarted).

If an application is made to a Sheriff then when the case is decided Disclosure Scotland will issue a new disclosure to the applicant taking into account whether or not the Sheriff has ordered the information to be removed. The Sheriff's decision on an application is final. The Sheriff can order information to be removed only when he or she thinks that the conviction information is not relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure was requested.

If the applicant is satisfied with the content of the disclosure document and decides not to apply to the Sheriff, then they can request that Disclosure Scotland send the copy to the counter signatory before the end of those 10 working days by emailing: HLC.Appeal@disclosurescotland.gov.scot">HLC.Appeal@disclosurescotland.gov.scot

A disclosure contains sensitive personal information and there are rules governing how individuals and organisations must use disclosures. It's a criminal offence to misuse a disclosure. The offences which may be committed in connection with disclosures include: using another person's disclosure as if it's your own, forging or altering a disclosure, getting a disclosure under false pretences and sharing disclosure information improperly.

Who can apply for disclosure?

Anyone can apply for a basic disclosure in their own name for their own purpose. This can be requested for any reason, for example a new job, or volunteer work which is not eligible for higher disclosure levels, or to support a visa application, etc. Please see the types of PVG disclosure page which includes reference to whom/when you can apply for a Scheme Membership Statement.

Standard or Enhanced disclosures are applied for by an employer or a registered body (this can be the employer) representing the individual.

For Standard, Enhanced and PVG scheme record, individuals cannot apply for these on their own. These must be undertaken via the employer or organisation offering the regulated work. Individuals can, however apply for a PVG Scheme Membership Statement without requiring a countersignature.

Disclosure Scotland training and further support can be found in Annex B.

Overview:

• There are 4 types of disclosure:

Basic – contains unspent convictions

Higher (Standard & Enhanced and PVG scheme record) – contains unspent conviction, spent convictions on the "Offences which must always be disclosed" list, and possibly offences that are on the "Offences which are disclosed subject to rules" list

Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme – disclosure for people doing regulated work with children and protected adults

Whether the applicant is required to register under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (the 'sex offenders register')

Enhanced disclosure and the PVG scheme record can also contain Other Relevant Information

• Spent convictions on the 'Offences that Must Always be Disclosed' list must always be disclosed.
• Spent Convictions on the 'Offences that are Disclosed According to Rules' list are disclosed subject to consideration of the age of the conviction (not disclosed if over 15 years ago or 7 ½ years if 18 or under at time of conviction). They are also not disclosed if there was no punishment or intervention resulting from the conviction.
• Individuals can apply to have spent convictions removed from disclosure. This applies both to spent convictions on the "Offences which must always be disclosed" list and to those on the "Offences which are disclosed subject to rules" list. Applications must be to the Sheriff within 3 months of the date of the disclosure document.
• The Sheriff can only order information to be removed if the conviction information is not relevant to the disclosure request.