This page contains guidance notes that accompany the Confidential Declaration required to be completed before working with children and/or vulnerable adults.
[1] Eligibility guidance for enhanced DBS checks – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[2] Applies to all Church of England ordained and licensed Clergy including Archbishops, Bishops, Archdeacons, Deans, stipendiary parish Clergy, self-supporting Minister / non stipendiary Ministers, Chaplains, locally ordained Clergy, Clergy with ‘permission to officiate’ (PTO), and those seeking ordination training or ordination.
[3] A Church Officer is anyone appointed/elected by or on behalf of the Church to a post or role, whether they are ordained or lay, paid or voluntary.
[4] Please note that the ‘rehabilitation periods’ (i.e. the amount of time which has to pass before a conviction etc. can become ‘spent’) have been amended by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Since 10 March 2014, custodial sentences greater than 4 years are never ‘spent’. For further guidance in relation to the ‘rehabilitation periods’, please see http://hub.unlock.org.uk/knowledgebase/spent-now-brief-guide-changes-roa/
[5] The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013 and 2020) provides that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain convictions and cautions are considered ‘protected’. This means that they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account.
Convictions:- You do not have to declare any adult conviction where: (a) 11 years (or 5.5 years if under 18 at the time of the conviction) have passed since the date of the conviction; (b) it did not result in a prison sentence or suspended prison sentence (or detention order) and (c) it does not appear on the DBS’s list of specified offences relevant to safeguarding (broadly violent, drug related and/or sexual in nature). Please note that a conviction must comply with (a), (b) and (c) in order to be filtered.
Cautions:- You do not have to declare any adult caution where: (a) 6 years have passed since the date of the caution etc. and (b) it does not appear on the DBS’s list of specified offences. As of 28 November 2020, reprimands, warnings and youth cautions, are automatically filtered. Please note that a caution etc. must comply with (a) and (b) in order to be filtered.
Further guidance is provided by the DBS and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-filtering-guidance/dbs-filtering-guide
[6] https://www.nacro.org.uk/ https://unlock.org.uk/
[7] DBS sample policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[8] Home-based position definition and guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[9] Please inform relevant members of your household that you have included their details on this form (if applicable) and give them a copy of the Privacy Notice.
[10] Regulated Activity with Children in England
[11] Regulated Activity with Adults in England
[12] ‘harm’ involves ill-treatment of any kind including neglect, physical, emotional, financial or sexual abuse, or impairment of physical or mental health development. It will also include matters such as a sexual relationship with a young person or adult for whom an individual had pastoral responsibility or was in a position of respect, responsibility or authority, where he/she was trusted by others. It also includes domestic abuse.
Privacy Notice
This notice explains how the information you supply in your Confidential Declaration is used and your rights with respect to that data as required by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018, (the “DPA 2018”).
Who we are
St Peter’s Bentley PCC
St Peter’s Community Hall
High Street
Bentley
DONCASTER
DN5 0AA
- The data we collect about you
We collect your name and address as provided by you in the Confidential Declaration Form, and where applicable, relevant conduct data and/or criminal offence data (including allegations); barring data; court findings or orders.
We also collect the following information about other individuals living or employed in your household who are over 16 years old, where applicable (see section 3, headed “Purposes and lawful bases for using your personal data” paragraph 3):
• criminal offence data (including allegations); barring data; court findings or orders.
It is our expectation that you will inform these individuals that you have put their details on the CD form, and that you explain the reason for this.
- Purposes and lawful bases for using your personal data
The overall purpose of the confidential declaration is to ensure that I/we take all reasonable steps to prevent those who might harm children or adults from taking up positions of respect, responsibility or authority where they are trusted by others in accordance with the Safer Recruitment: Practice Guidance (2016).
We use your data for the following purposes and lawful bases:
- Appointing individuals to positions of respect, responsibility or authority where they are trusted by others.
- For the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser to conduct a risk assessment where applicant discloses information on the form.
- Collect information about members of your household for the purpose of undertaking a Disclosure and Barring Service check on them if you have applied for a role where you work from home with children.
It is the legitimate interest of [insert name of the data controller] to ensure that only appropriate individuals are appointed to certain positions, as established by the Promoting a Safer Church – House of Bishops Policy Statement (2017). We also need to be assured that no member of your household poses any risk.
It is also necessary for reasons of substantial public interest in order to prevent or detect unlawful act and protect members of the public from harm, including dishonesty, malpractice and other seriously improper conduct or for the purposes of safeguarding children and adults at risk. (Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance (2016)).
Legitimate Interest Assessment
We have a specific purpose with a defined benefit The processing is an essential part of safer recruitment, to ensure that individuals appointed to positions of respect, responsibility or authority where they are trusted by others are properly vetted and pose no risk to children, vulnerable adults or the wider public.
The processing is necessary to achieve the defined benefit. Without processing this data, there would be no assurance that suitable individuals are being appointed.
The purpose is balanced against, and does not override, the interests, rights and freedoms of data subjects. The risk of significant harm to others if inappropriate appointments are made outweighs the low risk to individuals of disclosing the data to us.
For a copy of the full Legitimate Interest Assessment, please contact us on the details included in section 7 headed “Complaints”.
- Sharing your data
Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with those involved in the recruitment/appointment process and, where appropriate, the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser. It may be shared outside the Church for the prevention or detection of an unlawful act; to protect members of the public from harm or safeguarding purposes, or as required by law, under Schedule 1, Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3 (as appropriate) of the Data Protection Act 2018, with the following:
• Police
• Children’s or Adults Social services in Local Authorities
• Statutory or regulatory agencies, (e.g. the DBS)
- Data Retention
We keep your personal data, if your application is successful, for no longer than reasonably necessary for the periods and purposes as set out in the retention table below at the following link:
https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/Safeguarding%20Records-%20Retention%20Tool%20kit%20-Dec%2015.pdf
If your application isn’t successful, your data will be held for 6 months after the recruitment process ends, and then destroyed.
- Your Legal Rights and Complaints
Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR or DPA 2018, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data: –
• The right to be informed about any data we hold about you;
• The right to request a copy of your personal data which we hold about you;
• The right to request that we correct any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;
• The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for us to retain such data;
• The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;
• The right to object to the processing of your personal data
• The right to obtain and reuse your personal data to move, copy or transfer it from one IT system to another.
- Complaints
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us using the details set out below.
hello@stpetersbentley.org
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office. You can contact the Information Commissioners Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF.