Representations to Disclosure Scotland about PVG listing

Disclosure Scotland runs the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme, known as the PVG Scheme. Where it receives information suggesting a person may be unsuitable to do regulated work with children, protected adults or both, it can consider whether to include that person on the Children's List or the Protected Adults' List, or both.

Being under consideration means that process has started. It does not mean you have been listed, and you will be given the chance to respond before any final decision is made.

The information that leads Disclosure Scotland to consider a person for inclusion on a barred list can come from a number of places: a conviction, reports from the police, court proceedings, a referral from a current or previous employer, a referral from a regulatory body, a local authority or Integration Joint Board, or other information Disclosure Scotland considers relevant.

Disclosure Scotland first assesses what it has received. Only if it considers formal consideration may be appropriate does the formal process begin, and that is when you are notified.

Disclosure Scotland will write to tell you that you are under consideration, which barred list or lists are being considered, what information Disclosure Scotland has received, and how you can provide information in response. Where appropriate, your employer and any relevant regulatory body may also be told that you are under consideration.

You will normally have 28 days to provide information to Disclosure Scotland, from when it notified you that it is considering including your name on one or both of the lists under the PVG Scheme. That response is known as a representation. It is your opportunity to put forward your account, challenge or explain information that is incomplete or misleading, and provide the evidence you want taken into account.

Being under consideration by Disclosure Scotland for inclusion on a barred list under the PVG Scheme does not automatically bar you from regulated work. Disclosure Scotland's current guidance indicates you can continue working while the process is ongoing, although your PVG status will show that you are under consideration, and employers and regulators may be told.

In some circumstances conditions can be imposed while consideration continues. Your own position depends on the facts of your case and the nature of your work, so it is worth getting specific advice if your job or professional standing is affected.

The information initially sent to Disclosure Scotland rarely tells the whole story. An incident may be more complicated than the report suggests, allegations may need clarifying, important context may be missing, and there may be mitigation, evidence of rehabilitation, or people able to give testimony about your character.

A representation is much more than a short explanation of what happened. It should be a structured response that identifies the relevant issues, deals with the information Disclosure Scotland is relying on, and puts forward the strongest evidence and arguments available to you.

Representations to Disclosure Scotland give you the opportunity to set out your account of what happened, corrections to anything inaccurate, relevant background and circumstances, mitigation, evidence of rehabilitation or changed circumstances, character evidence, and any other evidence bearing on your suitability. It should also make a clear case for why listing should not take place.

Yes. Disclosure Scotland may make further enquiries and gather information from other sources. If it intends to rely on that further evidence, you may be given an opportunity to respond to it as well.

If Disclosure Scotland decides not to include your name on any barred list, the consideration process comes to an end in relation to that decision, the relevant records are updated, and the appropriate parties are told the outcome. You avoid the consequences of being placed on the barred list.

If Disclosure Scotland decides to include your name on a barred list, you will be immediately barred from carrying out regulated work with the group or groups concerned, whether that is children, protected adults or both.

Yes, for this work. Making representations to Disclosure Scotland is unreserved legal work, which an England-based practice can lawfully carry out. The notice further down this page explains exactly what that means.

Much of the experience I bring comes from the equivalent DBS process in England and Wales, the Minded to Bar representations that make up most of my work. The two schemes are not identical, and the terminology and legal framework differ, but the task is closely similar: answering the information relied on, correcting inaccuracies, putting incidents in context, presenting mitigation and evidence of change, and making a clear case against barring. I have also made successful representations to Disclosure Scotland directly.