DBS certificates for overseas work

11. The Government shares the Inquiry’s concerns that effective protections should be in place for children abroad. Criminal record checks are an important part of these protections and the Government wants to ensure that overseas employers are able to access the information that they need when recruiting UK residents to work with children. 12. Under current arrangements, individuals applying to work in a school or organisation outside the UK where they will be in regular contact with children can apply for an International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC). This is produced by ACRO Criminal Records Office (a national policing unit which provides criminal records information services to policing bodies and individuals) in conjunction with the National Crime Agency (NCA). The ICPC details the individual’s criminal record history in the UK and any relevant information or intelligence on police databases which the NCA deems appropriate for disclosure. 13. The Government has considered carefully the Inquiry’s recommendation which for overseas employers would replace the ICPC with the Enhanced Certificate currently issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service in England and Wales in respect of regulated activity. While the Government agrees with the Inquiry that overseas employers should be able to access criminal records information as effectively and straightforwardly as possible, it is not persuaded that this would be the effect of this recommendation.

The Government has considered carefully the Inquiry’s recommendation which for overseas employers would replace the ICPC with the Enhanced Certificate currently issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service in England and Wales in respect of regulated activity. While the Government agrees with the Inquiry that overseas employers should be able to access criminal records information as effectively and straightforwardly as possible, it is not persuaded that this would be the effect of this recommendation.

32. I have not found any reasons to recommend departure from the Government’s detailed response to the original recommendation 3 in relation to recruitment decisions taken outside the UK, which was repeated in the final report. However, having regard to the fact that IICSA repeated it, I would expect the Government to review the matter.

52. In its Children Outside the UK Phase 2 Investigation Report, the Inquiry recommended that the geographical reach of the DBS be extended. In its response, the Home Office indicated that it considered that the information provided on an ICPC was broadly similar to that on an enhanced certificate. The absence of barred list information on the ICPC creates a significant risk to the safety of children in the UK and abroad. The Inquiry therefore reiterates its recommendation that the disclosure and barring regime should be extended to those working with children overseas.