Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 - accredited body fees and discounting proposals: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Annex – Children's Rights and Wellbeing Assessment (child-friendly version)

Introduction

Disclosure Scotland is asking the public for opinions on whether it should make changes to fee discounts offered in relation to membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. You might have to join the PVG Scheme if you are 16 and over and doing certain work with children or vulnerable adults.

The Scottish Government is considering changes to discounting because fee levels may need to increase for the first time in 13 years. It is important that we consider how those who might struggle most to pay a changed fee can be supported.

Disclosure Scotland is looking for views on three main options around PVG fee discounting:

• moving from free disclosures to a discount for volunteers in Qualifying Voluntary Organisations (QVOs)
• introducing a discount for people who get certain benefits from the government
• introducing a discount for care experienced children and young people aged 16 to 25 years old.

Volunteers (Qualifying Voluntary Organisations waiver)

Currently, many volunteers get free PVG checks. This is because volunteers bring a huge positive impact to Scotland and we want to help encourage people to volunteer. We are not proposing removing the discount entirely because this would make volunteering in certain roles harder.

The proposal is to move to a fee discount for volunteers. The suggested discount would be a 60% reduction of the full fee-payment. For example, for the current £59 fee this would be £24 for a volunteer. For a increased £70 fee this would be £28.

People in receipt of certain benefits

Disclosure Scotland does not currently provide this discount. As we are exploring the need to increase fees, we are also looking at whether it would be possible and helpful to offer a discount for people least able to pay.

We are suggesting that we would offer a 50% discount (for a £59 fee, this would be £29 or for a £70 fee this would be £35) for people who get these benefits:

• income-based jobseeker's allowance
• universal credit
• personal independence payment
• adult disability payment

Care experienced young people

Disclosure Scotland is a responsibility of Scottish Ministers (the Scottish Government) which means it is a Corporate Parent. We have a duty to consider how we can support care experienced children and young people in accessing our services.

When we've spoken to care experienced young people in the past, they told us they didn't apply for roles which require PVG Scheme membership because they didn't know what might appear on their certificate. The Disclosure Act changes the system so you will see your disclosure information before it's sent to an employer. However, we know that care experienced young people are less likely to have financial support to apply to college or university courses or work that requires disclosure. The additional expense of the PVG scheme membership may still stop some people from applying for jobs or courses they would like to do.

Disclosure Scotland is considering two versions of this option. One is based on the council tax exemption. This would be to provide a 50% fee reduction for care leavers. For a £59 fee this would be £29. A care leaver is a person who:

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

Disclosure Scotland would need the young person to provide confirmation from the local authority that they are eligible as a care leaver. We are also considering whether we could accept a confirmation letter of council tax exemption from the local authority.

The second option developed following reflecting on the evidence below and talking to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). It would mean more young people are eligible. Disclosure Scotland would provide a 50% fee reduction for care experienced young people aged 16 to 25 years. Eligibility would match the SAAS Care-Experience Bursary, that the young person would have been under:

• foster care
• kinship care (arranged by a local authority)
• kinship care (no local authority involvement – past local authority contact required)
• looked after at home or looked after away from home under a Compulsory Supervision Order
• residential care

Disclosure Scotland would require the young person to provide confirmation from an 'appropriate professional person' that they are eligible. Disclosure Scotland is thinking about matching the SAAS eligibility criteria so that a SAAS award letter could also be used as evidence.

CRWIA Stage 2 – Assessment of Impact and Compatibility with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

1. Evidence gathered

Disclosure Scotland have looked at data from surveys, evidence from our own systems, spoken with other parts of the Scottish Government and looked what young people have told us in the past.

From 1 April 2025, PVG scheme membership will not be available to children aged under 16 years old. Any fees and fee discounting therefore only has a direct impact on children aged 16 and 17 years old.

Volunteers (Qualifying Voluntary Organisations waiver)

We got evidence from Volunteer Scotland who recently did a survey about children and young people's volunteering. They found young people were generally more likely to volunteer than adults. They also told us that young people living in the most deprived areas were less likely to be able to volunteer than young people in the more deprived areas.

While young people were more likely to volunteer generally, it does not appear from our systems that they are much more likely to need a PVG disclosure than other age groups.

We do not have information on whether needing to pay for PVG scheme membership would make 16 and 17 year olds less likely to volunteer in roles working with other children or with vulnerable adults. We are hoping that young volunteers in these roles and organisations working with them will be able to provide us with more information on how it would affect them.

People in receipt of certain benefits

The Scottish Household Survey 2022 asked about whether people in different types of household were managing well financially. Households relying on benefits are much more likely to tell us they aren't managing well.

There is not much evidence in relation to 16 and 17 year olds on benefits, as usually you need to be 18 to claim these. Children may be able to claim Universal Credit when they are 16 or 17 years old if they:

• do not have parental support and are not under the care of a local authority
• are the carer of a disabled person
• are the main carer of a child
• have a child with a partner who can get Universal Credit
• are pregnant and will have their baby in 11 weeks or less, or
• have limited capability to work due to health.

Care experienced young people

In Scotland, the average age for leaving care is between 16 and 18 years old, but the average age for leaving home generally is 25. Care experienced young people are less likely to have financial support to start work or further education.

Scottish Government research has found that young people who were looked after are less likely than school leavers generally to be in work, further education or undertaking volunteering one year after leaving school.

Costs to access employment or training opportunities can make it harder for them to get jobs.

Disclosure Scotland has talked to colleagues who work regularly with care experienced young people and their advocates, including in Scottish Government Children and Families and SAAS. They have shared feedback they received on work in this area, particularly around the difficulties and delays many young people experience in trying to evidence their care history.

We are seeking views from children and young people and children's rights and advocacy organisations through the formal consultation process on these options. Disclosure Scotland is arranging specific engagement events with organisations in this sector.

2. Analysis of evidence

Qualifying Voluntary Organisations fee waiver and discounting

While Disclosure Scotland is consulting on a move to a fee discounting model, we recognise that this would introduce a new cost on voluntary organisations or their volunteers. Children aged 16 and 17 may be negatively impacted if the current free PVG disclosure for volunteers is replaced by a fee discount. The Scottish Government wants to hear from young volunteers and the organisations they volunteer with about what this would mean for them.

People in receipt of certain benefits

There is not much evidence relating to this proposal from this impact assessment work. The primary change is for the general adult/working age population.

It is anticipated there will be an indirect positive impact on children cared for by people in receipt of these benefits as the intent is to support people on very low or no income when looking for work or applying for new roles that require Level 2 with PVG disclosure.

Care experienced young people

The original proposal was only looking at mirroring the eligibility for council tax exemptions, which applies to care leavers aged 18 and over. Discussions with colleagues in Children and Families and the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) led to the development of a second option which would include 16 and 17 year olds and broaden eligibility.

UNCRC

These proposals are currently compatible with the UNCRC children's rights. We will continue to review this as we progress and get further feedback.

Post Assessment Review and sign-off

3. Communicating impact to children and young people

We are planning engagement with both voluntary groups and organisations whose focus is advancing children and young people's rights and wellbeing. The narrow scope of these proposals and that PVG scheme disclosures will only be available to 16 and 17 year olds has meant there is limited opportunity to engage with the general population of 16 and 17 year olds impacted by the proposals. Going via organisations providing support to children is considered the best way to obtain views on this topic.

4. Planning for the review of impact on child rights (Stage 3)

We will monitor the impact of proposals on children following implementation of any changes to Disclosure Scotland's fee structure. This would specifically relate to the proposal for a fee discount to be provided to care experienced young people. Disclosure Scotland will gather information on uptake and feedback from young people using the process if the proposals are progressed to an operational policy.

Disclosure Scotland will conduct an annual review of its fees and discounting commencing 2026, as per best practice. Review of the operation of any of the proposals made in this consultation or, where they are not implemented, revisiting introducing the proposals will be incorporated into those reviews.

5. Compatibility sign off statement (Guidance Section 2.2)

This relevant proposal has been assessed against the UNCRC requirements and has been found to be compatible.

Policy Lead Signature & Date of Sign Off: Ewan Coull, 20 December 2023

Deputy Director Signature & Date of Sign Off:

SGLD Sign Off: Yes ☐ No ☐