Consideration assessment

 Disclosure Scotland keeps a list of:

• people unsuitable to do regulated work with children
• people unsuitable to work with protected adults

The lists are separate, but people can be on both lists.

If Disclosure Scotland adds someone to one or both of these lists, it means that person has been 'listed'.

1. If you're listed

If you're on one of these lists, you're barred from working with the vulnerable groups covered by that list.

For example, if you're listed as unsuitable to work with children then you're not allowed to do regulated work with children.

If you're only listed as unsuitable to work with children you can still work with protected adults and vice versa.

If you were a PVG scheme member before you were listed, Disclosure Scotland will end your membership for that type of work.

2.  1. Initial consideration

If Disclosure Scotland gets information about you that could mean you're unsuitable for regulated work, they start the assessment process to decide if they should list you. This means you're under consideration for listing.

Disclosure Scotland may receive:

• information about a conviction or other relevant information from the police
• information about a conviction from the Scottish Court Service
• a referral from your past employer or regulatory body

There is a two-step assessment to decide if Disclosure Scotland needs to add you to the lists of people not allowed to work with children and/or protected adults.

In this first step, Disclosure Scotland checks the information received and decides if they should consider listing you.

If Disclosure Scotland decides it's not appropriate to continue considering you for listing, the consideration process will end.

During the initial consideration process, Disclosure Scotland will not tell a current employer.

2. 2. Full consideration

If the initial consideration shows that it might be appropriate to list you, Disclosure Scotland will carry out a full consideration for listing.

This will decide if Disclosure Scotland will list you as unsuitable to do regulated work with children, protected adults or both.

You can continue to work with vulnerable groups while Disclosure Scotland is carrying out our consideration. If you're a PVG scheme member then your PVG Scheme Record will say you're under consideration for listing.

3. Notification and representations

If Disclosure Scotland goes ahead with the full consideration for listing, they'll contact you to let you know:

• that you’re under consideration for listing
• what information Disclosure Scotland has about you
• that you can give any extra information you think is useful

You then have 28 days to send any information which:

• may explain your conduct 
• responds to the information given about you

Your information may include testimonies or references that could change Disclosure Scotland’s decision about listing you.

This is known as a representation.

4. Information gathering

During the full consideration, Disclosure Scotland examines the information they have about you. If they need more, they'll contact the relevant organisations to get it.

In some cases, if you give information that’s different to what other sources have provided, Disclosure Scotland will send this information to the sources and ask them for any further comments or evidence they hold.

Any extra evidence Disclosure Scotland gets from other sources will be given to you so you can respond if you want.

5. Making a decision

Once they have the information they need, Disclosure Scotland decides whether you are added to one or both lists.

Disclosure Scotland will give its decision in writing to:

• you
• any organisation you’re doing regulated work for
• any relevant regulatory body

It's a good idea to keep your letter because it is a record of Disclosure Scotland's decision.

If you’re working for a personal employer, your employer will not be notified in writing about Disclosure Scotland's decision. A personal employer is an individual who employs another person to carry out a role. For example, someone might employ a carer for themselves or a tutor for their child.

6. If Disclosure Scotland decides not to list the person

If you’re a PVG scheme member and Disclosure Scotland decides not to list you, they will update their records to show you’re no longer under consideration for listing. Disclosure Scotland will tell any interested parties, like current regulated work employers or regulatory bodies, that they decided not to list you.

7. If Disclosure Scotland decides to list you

It's against the law for someone barred from regulated work to do it. It's also against the law for an organisation to employ them in the regulated work that they’re barred from.