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A recent political scandal in Scotland involving the SNP Finance Secretary and texts sent to teenage boys has seen renewed calls for disclosure checks for anyone taking public office. Although in the case of the SNP politician there has been no arrest, no charge and no prosecution, politicians from other parties have tabled a motion to add elected representatives into the list of people who require enhanced disclosure checks.

The list of people who require a DBS check to carry out their work is constantly changing. Keeping track of all the changes can be tricky. One of the biggest changes in recent months seems to have flown entirely under the radar. This change affects garage owners and people who are running MOT checks on your car.

Pressure is being brought on the Disclosure and Barring Service to change its policy on youth cautions. A year after a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court, people applying for enhanced disclosure checks still have the possibility of cautions received many decades ago appearing on their certificate.

Any time the DBS check system hits the headlines it’s usually because someone has been waiting weeks or months for their check to come back. There are however some tips and tricks which you can use to maximise your chances of speeding through the system.

The Welsh Assembly has passed legislation to ban parents from smacking their children, following the lead of the Scottish parliament which passed similar legislation in 2019.

In London, concerns about the lack of proper disclosure checks for Uber drivers led to the company’s licence being suspended. The legal battle is still ongoing. In February 2020, Birmingham City Council announced that they were going to trial face recognition to help verify the identity of Uber drivers.

Employment law is constantly changing and 2020 is shaping up to deliver more changes than previous years. Whether you’re an employer or a worker, it’s important to keep up to date with what’s happening in the employment world as it might affect your pay packet.

According to official figures there are around 14.5 million people in the UK who volunteer regularly. Volunteers do everything from working behind the counter at their local charity shop to pushing tea trolleys round hospital wards. Volunteers are an unpaid army who contribute in a multitude of ways to their local economies.

The General Data Protection Regulation, usually abbreviated to GDPR, was introduced across Europe in May 2018. Even though the UK had already voted to leave the EU at that point, the GDPR rules still apply. Most businesses are up to speed already with their GDPR responsibilities, but some are still lacking.

The latest performance figures are out and they show that around the country, police forces are performing better against targets than previously. Nationally, the target of the majority of DBS checks being completed within 14 days is being achieved, but only marginally.