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

Fee waivers and discounting

People in receipt of certain benefits

Disclosure Scotland has not previously taken an income-based approach to setting fees. However, with proposed increases to fees, we are exploring the feasibility of offering discounts for people who are most likely to be affected by any increase.

With administrative responsibility for applications for removable convictions moving from the Scottish Courts to Disclosure Scotland, the fee exemptions provided by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service were considered as a starting point for this policy. We are not proposing charging a fee for review applications, however, exploring that issue formed the basis for looking at whether we can provide more support on disclosure fees to people at greatest socio-economic disadvantage.

Proposal

Disclosure Scotland is considering a fee discount structure based on the person being in receipt of certain benefits. The benefits will include:

• income-based jobseeker's allowance
• universal credit
• personal independence payment under Part 4 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012
• adult disability payment within the meaning given in regulation 2 of the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022

A review of national population statistics indicates that 18% of PVG scheme applicants could be in receipt of these benefits. An applicant seeking to benefit from the fee discount would be expected to provide evidence of their current receipt of benefits, such as a copy of the letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Social Security Scotland or HM Revenue and Customs.

The proposed discount is a 50% reduction of the full fee for people in receipt of the qualifying benefits. For example, the £70 PVG scheme join fee would be £35. A discount would be provided on any subsequent disclosures if the person remains eligible.

As this is a new policy, it is difficult to assess the uptake in advance. If progressed, Disclosure Scotland would continuously review this policy to ensure that it is meeting its intended aims.

Question 1 – Do you agree with the proposal to create a fee discount structure for people in receipt of certain benefits?

[Yes / no / don’t know]

Question 2 – What information do you think we need to consider when looking at a fee discount for people in receipt of certain benefits?

[Free text]

Care experienced young people

Scottish Government research has found that care experienced young people are consistently less likely than other school leavers generally to be in positive destinations one year after leaving school.

Additional costs to access employment or training opportunities can be a significant barrier to already disadvantaged groups in seeking and obtaining work. Past engagement with care experienced young people also found that some young people self-excluded from roles which require a PVG scheme record disclosure due to uncertainty over whether interaction with the youth justice system might be included on their disclosure record.

Although reforms under the Disclosure Act will provide young people with more certainty about what a Level 2 disclosure will include before it is disclosed to an employer (because the young person will be able to exercise their right to review information before it is disclosed), we recognise that a reluctance to apply for a role could still remain if the young person felt they needed to withdraw after paying the initial fee. Disclosure Scotland consider a fee discount in relation to joining the scheme and for subsequent disclosure applications will minimise the additional cost barriers on care experienced young people.

Other initiatives in place designed to address economic concerns faced by care experienced young people include:

• council tax exemptions
• a non-repayable Care Experienced Student Bursary of £9,000 from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS)

Proposals

Option 1: Disclosure Scotland is considering providing a fee discount of 50% to care experienced young people. For example, the £70 PVG scheme join fee would be £35. In this proposal, Disclosure Scotland propose defining a care experienced young person as a person who:

• is over 16 years of age and under 26 years of age
• has been looked after by a local authority at any time from their sixteenth birthday onwards
• is no longer looked after by a local authority

Disclosure Scotland will require the applicant to provide confirmation from a local authority, who can confirm the applicant’s circumstances, to establish eligibility for the care experienced fee discount. This option has narrower eligibility than Option 2 on the basis that a care experienced young person in this position is even more vulnerable to financial hardship due to lack of familial support and upheaval in later childhood than a broader cohort and therefore at a minimum targeted support should be made available to this group.

Option 2: Disclosure Scotland is considering providing a fee discount of 50% for care experienced young people. For example, the £70 PVG scheme join fee would be £35. For this option, eligibility would mirror the criteria for the Care Experience Student Bursary meaning the young person must be aged between 16 to 25 years and have been looked after under one of the following arrangements:

• foster care
• kinship care (arranged by a local authority)
• kinship care (although not arranged by local authority, the young person must have had engagement/contact with local authority or social work contact during the arrangement)
• looked after at home or looked after away from home under a Compulsory Supervision Order
• residential care

Disclosure Scotland will require an applicant seeking to benefit from the fee discount to provide confirmation from an appropriate professional person that can confirm their circumstances to establish eligibility for the discount. In relation to Option 2, a SAAS award letter could also be used as evidence. This option has a broader eligibility than Option 1 (and includes those in Option 1), recognising that care experience is a lifelong issue, affecting those who were in care at any age, and that a wider support package would bring more benefits to care experienced young people. It would also streamline the process for young people also applying for the SAAS award, permitting them to use the same evidence or their award letter for both systems.

Question 3 – Do you agree with the Option 1 proposal to provide a fee discount for care experienced young people?

[Yes / no / don’t know]

Question 4 – Do you agree with the Option 2 proposal to provide a fee discount for care experienced young people?

[Yes / no / don’t know]

Question 5 – What information do you think we need to consider when proposing a fee discount for care experienced young people?

[Free text]

Volunteers (Qualifying Voluntary Organisations waiver)

Currently, Disclosure Scotland waives fees for any applications to join the PVG scheme and all subsequent disclosure records when people are doing regulated work in a voluntary and unpaid capacity for a Qualifying Voluntary Organisation (QVO). The cost of applications to join and any subsequent scheme records is met by Disclosure Scotland and the wider Scottish Government. This has been the position since 2011.

‘Qualifying Voluntary Organisation’ means an organisation which is not:

• a further education institution, a school, a public or local authority, or under the management of a public or local authority
• conducted primarily for profit, and any profit generated is used to further the objectives of the organisation and not distributed to its members

As part of this consultation Disclosure Scotland is considering the operation of the QVO fee waiver to ensure public money is being used effectively. The value of non-chargeable disclosures provided to volunteers during 2022/23 amounted to £2.318 million.

The Scottish Government recognises the immense value volunteers bring to the Scottish economy and life and will continue to subsidise disclosures for volunteers with QVOs. However, in addition, with the ongoing pressure on household finances across UK, Disclosure Scotland is also considering if we can provide broader support to households on low incomes or who face additional barriers through a history of care experience. This broader support will only be achievable if costs can be balanced.

No decision has been made on this proposal and retaining the fee waiver continues to be an active option.

Proposal

Disclosure Scotland would move to a fee discount structure for volunteers doing regulated roles in QVOs.

The proposed discount is a 60% reduction of the full fee for a volunteer in a QVO. For example, a £70 PVG scheme join fee would be £28.

This reduction would mean an estimated £869,988 saving for Disclosure Scotland which would contribute towards the future sustainability of discounting and fee waivers under the PVG scheme.

Question 6 – Do you agree with the proposal to move to a fee discount structure for volunteers in QVOs?

[Yes / no / don’t know]

Question 7 – What information do you think we need to consider when proposing moving to a fee discount for volunteers in QVOs?

[Free text]