The following extract has been taken from The British Au Pair Agencies Association (BAPAA) website, for the full report go to http://www.bapaa.org.uk/displaypage.asp?page=6

 To everyone’s relief Au Pairs are now exempt from the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) through a clarification of the term ‘family relationship’. The British Au Pair Agencies Association (BAPAA) has been notified directly of this Government decision by Baroness Delyth Morgan, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families, following extended talks.  The decision was due to certain factors as follows:-

 ·         ISA registration was meant to be compulsory for all Au Pairs placed in the UK. However the Government is not able to police overseas owned Au Pair placement sites on the Internet. This created an anomaly and the Government’s decision to waive the compulsory registration of Au Pairs has resolved this issue as far as Au Pairs recruited through UK Au Pair Agencies is concerned. It is hoped this will discourage the host families from recruiting Au Pairs from websites controlled from outside the UK, where usually few or no checks have been carried out. 

 ·         The registration process would have made it impossible for a foreign Au Pair to register in advance of joining his/her host family and would result in delays in the placement procedure that could negatively affect the family’s childcare arrangements. 

·         As Au Pairs are exempt from National Minimum Wage regulations, and earn pocket money in the region of £70 per week, the £64 VBS registration fee would have been unaffordable. 

·         The process of an Au Pair registering with the ISA would have been cumbersome, causing time delays which could have adversely affected his/her placement prospects and the resultant inconvenience to those host families waiting for the process to be completed.   

 The Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) and the associated Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) 

The new Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) was launched on 12 October 2009 and individuals can become ISA Registered from 26 July 2010.  The role of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) is to prevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults by assessing individuals currently working or wishing to work in regulated activities.

It will base its decision upon information collated from various sources including the Police, the Criminal Records Bureau, government sources and a range of other agencies and they will decide who should be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.  

The difference between this and the CRB check is that the ISA have the authority to actually barr someone they deem unsuitable from working with children and vulnerable adults - something currently not done through the CRB. The CRB check gives the employer information on an individual’s criminal history together with other relevant information and the employer in turn makes the decision as the individual’s suitability for that position. In effect, the ISA are taking the checks one step further and they will in turn have a major impact on the recruitment and monitoring of individuals undertaking certain activities with children or vulnerable adults.  

For further information on the Vetting & Barring scheme please use the following link www.crb.homeoffice.gov.uk/faqs/vetting_and_barring_scheme.aspx