Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 – accredited body fees and discounting proposals: business and regulatory impact assessment

2. Purpose and intended effect

2.1 Background

This is a partial BRIA, to accompany the formal consultation on accredited body fees and fee discounting in the PVG Scheme under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 ("the Disclosure Act").

Disclosure Scotland charges fees for some of its functions, including disclosure certificates. There is also a longstanding fee waiver in relation to PVG disclosures for qualifying voluntary organisations. The current fees were set in 2011 (basic, standard and enhanced were set at £25, PVG Scheme at £59 for a full scheme record and £18 for a short scheme record).

2011 to present is the longest period disclosure fees in Scotland have remained frozen.

During the consultation on Protection of Vulnerable Groups and disclosure of criminal information in 2018, an initial consultation into revised fee structures was undertaken.

2.2 Objective

The primary objective of setting fees is to bring Disclosure Scotland back to a cost-neutral position, as required by the Scottish Public Finance Manual by changing statutory fees. Charging for services helps to avoid unnecessary public expenditure and eliminate hidden subsidies.

This consultation supports developing policy proposals which could provide more targeted support to certain groups of customers who may be less able to pay the full fee than other parts of the population. It also looks at the impact of an inflationary increase on accredited body fees on business customers.

2.3 Rationale for Government intervention

The proposals contribute to the following objectives of the National Performance Framework by ensuring the continued disclosure and safeguarding service without unnecessary public expenditure:

• Our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people's needs.
• We grow up loved, safe and respected so that we realise our full potential.
• We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe.

Any increase in fees will be felt most by those already struggling to obtain employment or on short-term contracts. These proposals are intended to look at addressing that within the context of the PVG Scheme.

In relation to accredited body fees, there has been no change since 2011. The Scottish Government previously consulted on an inflationary increase in 2018, however, this was on hold pending implementation of the Disclosure Act.