Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020  - accredited body fees and proposals for discounting: PVG scheme consultation

Introduction

The Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (the Disclosure Act) introduces new types of disclosure, Level 1 and Level 2. Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme membership disclosures will be available as a confirmation of scheme membership or as part of a Level 2 disclosure. This means the Scottish Government needs to lay new regulations on fees payable for each type of disclosure and registering as an accredited body.

In this consultation, we are seeking views to enable us to consider accredited body registration fees and fee discounts for certain groups.

Disclosure Scotland’s fees and fee structure have not changed since 2011. This is the longest period fees for disclosure products in Scotland have been frozen. The Public Sector Finance Manual sets out that fees should be set at full cost recovery. This means there is limited scope to adjust the fee levels when proposed. Work is ongoing to ensure fees are set at a level which balances affordability for customers against the cost of delivering disclosures.

While this consultation does set out some proposed fee levels for disclosure products under the Disclosure Act, taking account of actual cost of delivery and inflation, its focus is on gathering more evidence on Disclosure Scotland's approach to fees in certain circumstances to help us develop our policy approach to fees. The proposed fee levels are included to help contextualise the proposed approach.

We also invite comments on the draft impact assessments on fee waivers and discounting.

Partial impact assessments are published at gov.scot.