Types of Disclosure

There are three different levels of checks available:

Basic

Not currently available
In the future, all employers and volunteering organisations will be entitled to ask prospective employees/volunteers to obtain a Basic Disclosure.

Standard

These are primarily for positions that involve working with children or regular contact with vulnerable adults. They are also for those providing health services and for those entering certain professions such as accountancy. These are some of the excepted professions, offices and employment′s referred to in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Standard Disclosures contain details of all convictions on record (including ‘spent’ convictions - i.e. those that happened some time ago and normally no longer need to be revealed as specified in the Rehabilitation Act 1974) plus details of any cautions, reprimands or warnings. For positions involving ‘working with children’ also give information contained on a government department lists of people considered unsuitable to work with children. The DfES and DH currently hold these lists.

Enhanced

These are for posts involving greater contact with children or vulnerable adults such as a social worker or doctor. Such work might involve regularly caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of such people. Enhanced Disclosures are also issued in respect of other positions such as those seeking judicial appointments, and certain statutory licensing purposes.

All Enhanced Disclosures involve an extra level of checking with local police force records in addition to checks with the Police National Computer (PNC) and the government department lists held by the DfES and DH, where appropriate. Local police information can be contained on the both copies of the Disclosure. It is up to the Chief Constable of the police force to decide what, if any, information is disclosed. An example of information contained on both Disclosures could be details of a child protection case conference. Chief Constables can decide that some information is relevant to the position but do not wish the prospective employee to see sight of this information. This could be detail of suspected criminal activity were an arrest has not taken place but is anticipated. If this type of local information is available it will be indicated on the top of the Disclosure that police are sending further information. This information will be sent separately to the employer/volunteering organisation only.