PO Box 165
Liverpool
L69 3JD
www.gov.uk/dbs
Mark James FOI 2467 17/06/2024 ________________________________________________________________________
Dear Mr James,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request received on the 16th of June
2024. Your request has been handled under the FOI Act 2000.
Your request for information was as follows:
1. Information on page 2 of a recent DBS basic certificate states:
"The information contained in this certificate is derived from police records, held on the
Police National Computer (PNC) that contains details of Convictions, Cautions,
Reprimands and Warnings in England and Wales and relevant convictions in Scotland and
Northern Ireland may also be included."
2. Please clarify whether in England and Wales a DBS certificate may contain information
derived from sources other than the PNC.
Response
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment
decisions each year by processing and issuing DBS checks for England, Wales, the
Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. DBS also maintains the adults' and children's Barred
Lists and makes considered safeguarding decisions as to whether an individual should be
included on one or both lists and barred from engaging in regulated activity.
DBS has published information on its website that provides relevant information in scope
of your FOI request.
To summarise, a
Basic DBS check is a check of any conditional cautions and unspent
convictions, under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974.
Basic DBS checks only show convictions that are not ‘spent’ under the Rehabilitation of
Offenders Act 1974 (ROA). The ROA enables eligible convictions or cautions to become
‘spent’ after a specified period, known as the ‘rehabilitation period’. The rehabilitation
periods depend on the sentence given or disposal administered because of a conviction
and the age of the individual on the date they are convicted. The following web link
provides further information about Basic checks.
Guide to Basic DBS checks - GOV.UK
(www.gov.uk)
The
Standard level check shows spent and unspent convictions and adult cautions, from
the Police National Computer which have not been
filtered in line with legislation.
The
Enhanced check shows the same as a Standard check plus any
approved
information held by police forces and considered by them to be relevant to the role and
ought to be contained in the certificate. The rules governing the disclosure of approved
information are contained within Section 113 B (4) of Part V of the Police Act 1997. This
states that:
‘Before issuing an enhanced criminal record certificate the Secretary of State must request
any relevant chief officer to provide any information which (a) the chief officer reasonably
believes to be relevant for the purpose described in the statement under subsection (2),
and (b) in the chief officer’s opinion, ought to be included in the certificate.’
The
Enhanced check with a check of the barred lists shows the same as an Enhanced
check plus whether the applicant is on the adults’ barred list, children’s barred list or both.
See
DBS checks: detailed guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for further information.
The information provided is in response to this specific request and should not be
compared with any other information previously released.
Information disclosed in response to this FOI request is releasable to the public. In
keeping with the spirit and effect of the FOI Act and the government’s Transparency
Agenda, this letter and the information disclosed to you may be placed on GOV.UK,
together with any related information that will provide a key to its wider context. No
information identifying you will be placed on the GOV.UK website.
Your right to request an internal review under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are dissatisfied our handling of your Freedom of Information request you may
request an internal review by e-mailing
xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx or by writing to Freedom of
Information Manager, Disclosure and Barring Service, PO Box 165, L69 3JD. You should
submit any request for review within two months of the date of this letter.
The Disclosure and Barring Service will aim to respond to your request for a review within
20 working days and in any case no longer than 40 working days.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you have a right of appeal to
the Information Commissioner’s Office. Generally the Information Commissioner cannot
make a decision unless you have exhausted our own internal complaints procedure. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5A
F www.ico.org.uk. Yours sincerely
DBS FOI Team
xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
