The government's Vetting and Barring Scheme is a child of moral panic. It is a textbook case of how media hype, political expediency and bureaucratic process lead to conclusions that can later appear disproportionate....


....The new system insists that anyone who has frequent or intensive contact with children or vulnerable adults through an employer or a voluntary organisation must be vetted.

It is expected the process will eventually see 11.3 million adults in England, Wales and Northern Ireland seek registration - that is about one in four of all adults. A separate but aligned system will apply in Scotland...

...The devil, as always, is in the detail.

Those required to be ISA-checked include those involved in "any activity which involves contact with children or vulnerable adults and is of a specified nature (eg teaching, training, care, supervision, advice, treatment or transport) frequently, intensively and/or overnight". It also covers any activity in a specified place (such as schools and children's homes) frequently or intensively.

The register will not apply to "family or personal" arrangements, we are told, but there is bound to be some debate as to when the informal kickabout in the park becomes a regulated voluntary activity...
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Oh gods, so bus drivers will have to be vetted and it would appear that the you would need both this AND a CRB to work in many places.

This means that if you drive your neighbours child to football at the weekend you are breaking the law and can be fined Ł5,000?