Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks

Cornwall Council Safeguarding Statement

Cornwall Council demonstrates its commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at all stages of the recruitment and selection process.

It has in place consistent, fair and thorough safer recruitment practices and processes that aim to deter, reject or identify people who might abuse children, young people or adults and to ensure that those recruited are suitable to work within Cornwall Council’s services.

Safer recruitment is part of a culture of ongoing vigilance where safer working practices are used by supported and well-trained staff. Adults working with children, young people and/or adults will be clear about appropriate and inappropriate practice and are able to raise concerns when these arise.

DBS Checks

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks (formally CRB checks) help employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children, by revealing any relevant criminal history. Please refer to our Types of Criminal Record check webpage for more information.

Basic Disclosure Checks

A Basic disclosure check is the lowest level of disclosure and checks the Police National Computer (PNC) for details of all current unspent criminal convictions. Please refer to our Types of Criminal Record check webpage for more information on Basic disclosure checks.

Who needs a Criminal Record check?

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) provides guidance on their website which gives details on positions that are eligible for a DBS check.

Anyone applying for a role that involves regularly working with children, young people or adults could be asked to apply for a DBS check.

Basic checks can be undertaken for any purpose and unlike an enhanced or standard disclosure, there are no eligibility criteria that must be met.

There are different levels of check available and these are dependant on the area of work that an individual is involved in and the level of contact with children and/or adults.

Further information regarding the different levels of check available can be found on our Types of Criminal Record check webpage webpage.

Cornwall Council DBS Umbrella Service

Cornwall Council is a registered body with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS); this allows smaller, non-registered employers to use us for the processing of Criminal Record checks. We can act as an intermediate between you and the DBS, offering specialist experience which helps move the process along quickly.

Cornwall Council has a secure online system (e-Bulk) for processing DBS checks.

Our online system helps to eliminate application data errors, prevent employment delays and reduce manual administration. Key benefits include:

• Prevent employment delays; the system can reduce overall processing time by 5-10 days as postal delivery and DBS pre-processing is no longer required
• Minimal data errors; less rejected applications
• Reduce manual administration by 50%, saving time and hassle
• No postage costs
• Keep all disclosure application records in one place
• Simple method to manage and track the application lifecycle
• Automatic notification of results eliminates delays associated with introduction of 'single certificate' and the need to view candidates copy for 'Clear' disclosures.

Further information regarding e-Bulk and how the system works can be found on our e-Bulk page.

Costs

How to register

If you would like Cornwall Council to act as an umbrella body and request DBS checks on behalf of your organisation, please complete our new customer request form and email it to the Safer Recruitment Team to start the process.