Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on what steps self employed professionals should take to obtain Enhanced DBS checking to enable them to provide services to vulnerable clients where there is no sponsoring employer.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent from the Home Office. Guidance published on gov.uk informs applicants and employers that:

· A self-employed person who is eligible for a standard or enhanced DBS check due to the role they will undertake can ask the organisation that wishes to contract their services, such as a Local Authority, or a recruitment agency, to apply for their higher-level DBS check.

· Under current legislation, applicants cannot apply for an enhanced (or standard) check issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) by themselves. This needs to be done through the employer who has asked for a DBS check.

· Self-employed people may obtain a basic check, which any individual may apply for, which will reveal any unspent criminal convictions and adult cautions.

·  DBS issues eligibility guidance on its website to this effect: DBS checks: guidance for employers - GOV.UK, Quick_Guide_to_DBS_Checks.pdf.

On 9 April we published an update on the Government's work to tackle child sexual abuse: Tackling child sexual abuse: progress update - GOV.UK. In this we have committed to creating the ability for the self-employed to access higher level DBS checks. This will also include enabling access by personal employers.