Introduction to the PVG Scheme

Your Guide to the PVG Application Process

Background

The Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) (Scotland) Act 2007 came into being as a response to the Birchad Inquiry report that called for a registration scheme for all those who work with children and vulnerable adults.

The PVG Scheme covers all kinds of regulated work and pharmacists take part in that regulated work in their role as responsible pharmacists.

Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) acted to support our pharmacy contractors to comply with this new legislation by becoming a Registered Umbrella Body with Disclosure Scotland.

How we can help

The PVG Team at CPS will handle all aspects of the administration of the scheme on behalf of our members with contractors only having to cover the cost of the Disclosure Scotland fees.

About the PVG Scheme

Once the (PVG) (Scotland) Act 2007 was passed it became a criminal offence to knowingly employ anyone who is on a Disclosure Scotland barred list.

The PVG Scheme allows contractors to check that their pharmacists are not on any barred list by having them disclosed and your company name becomes listed as an ‘interested party’ on the pharmacists Disclosure Scotland file. Disclosure Scotland receives daily updates from the police, courts, social work departments and other relevant parties. If any of your pharmacist’s status was to change you as an ‘interested party’ would be informed by Disclosure Scotland.

The application process

Our aim at CPS is to guide you through the application process as easily as possible. We will pre-process and countersign your applications before sending them to Disclosure Scotland for the disclosure. Once we have your applications it takes about 21-28 days to receive the certificates.

Questions

If you have any questions about the PVG Scheme you can contact a member of the CPS PVG Team by phone on 0131 467 7766 or by email pvg.enquiries@cps.scot. Our office is open between 8am and 6pm Monday-Friday.

About the PVG Scheme

How to get started

We need a named contact within the company to liaise with our PVG Team. Often the best person is whoever deals with the company HR or a Pharmacy Superintendent.

Who should apply for PVG?

Pharmacists including Pre-Reg’s Yes Pharmacist do regulated work covered by the

PVG Scheme

Locums Yes

All locums who work for you on a regular basis. Due to the timescale involved it is not possible to disclose and become an ‘interested party’ for any short term or emergency bookings but the locums used may already be PVG Scheme Members.

Agency Locums No

It’s the responsibility of the agency to make sure the locum is disclosed and the agency is the ‘interested party’. Please check when booking.

Contractor Owners Your choice

If you are the pharmacy owner and take part in regulated work in the pharmacy you don’t need to be disclosed as you contract with the Health Board. If you became a barred person, the Health Board would be informed through the relevant regulatory body. As a director you should class yourself as a company employee, you can then apply to be disclosed if you wish.

Delivery Drivers No

Delivery drivers do not do regulated work so they don’t need to join the PVG Scheme, however they should apply for a Police Act Disclosure Certificate. Unfortunately we don’t process these forms but we can supply them to you. These forms should be returned directly to Disclosure Scotland.

There are a few different types of Disclosure Scotland certificates that your pharmacists may already have but not all of them are part of the PVG Scheme.

We’ve created a table on the next page which will help you to check the status of your pharmacists and what type of application form and record they need to apply for.

Introduction to the PVG Scheme

PVG Membership Status

Type of Certificate

Membership Status

Application Form

Required

Type of Record to Apply For

● Basic

● Standard

● EnhancedDisclosure

You are not a member of the PVG Scheme.

Application to Join PVG Scheme

Scheme Record for Children and Protected Adults.

● PVG SchemeRecord

● PVG SchemeRecord Update

● PVG ShortScheme RecordDisclosure

You are a member of the of the PVG Scheme

Existing Member Form

If you are already disclosed for both protected adults and children you need to apply for a Scheme Record Update for both adults and children and select yes for questionA3.

If you are disclosed for protected adults only or children only you need to apply for a Scheme Record for both and select No for question A3.

PVG Scheme Membership Statement

You are a member of the PVG Scheme but this type of certificate cannot be updated and your company cannot be listed as in ‘interested party’

Existing Member Form

You need to apply for a Scheme Record for both protected adults and children and pick yes or no for question A3 depending on what you have already been disclosed for.

If you have never had any type of disclosure certificate before

You are not a member of the PVG Scheme

Application to Join PVG Scheme

You need to apply for a Scheme Record for both protected adults and children.

Lost Certificate/Unsure

If you have lost your current certificate, or you are unsure if you have been disclosed before, you should contact Disclosure Scotland’s hotline on 03000 2000 40 and select Option 3. You will need to find out the answers to the questions below. You can use the table below to note down this information.

Certificate Type:

PVG Membership Number:

Are you disclosed for both protected adults & children?

Address on your certificate:

Please note: If any of your details have changed since you received your current certificate you should cross Yes at QB7 on the existing member form and provide a sheet of paper with your new details on it with your application. (e.g. change of address)

New Employees

When a new pharmacist joins your company you should ask them about their PVG Status. If they are not a PVG Scheme Member and you wish to register as an ‘interested party’ you should request that they join the Scheme.

If they are already a PVG Scheme Member they should apply for a Scheme Record Update for your company to become an ‘interested party’.

Employees who resign

If a pharmacist leaves your company you should inform Disclosure Scotland that you are no longer an ‘interested party’. Thereafter you will no longer receive any information about that person. Either party can notify Disclosure Scotland but if the pharmacist contacts Disclosure Scotland they will contact you to confirm.

Certificates

When Disclosure Scotland issues a certificate both the pharmacist and CPS will receive a copy. We will get in touch with your named contact by email and provide the following information:

● PVG Scheme Membership Number● Type of Certificate issued● Disclosure Number (Certificate number that will change with each disclosure made)● Date of Issue

Conviction Information on Certificates

During the disclosure process there might be information released about past convictions on the certificate, none of which would have affected the outcome of the PVG disclosure as the certificate was granted. You can choose if you would like to have this information passed to you.

The Scottish Government is keen to ensure that members of the community who may have convictions are not unfairly treated in the process of considering them for positions of trust. It is recommended that employers should have a written policy on the recruitment of people who have been convicted. Disclosure Scotland has a sample policy and this is available to download from the Disclosure Scotland website:

Application Forms

We can send the application forms to your named contact or to the Contractor codes on the list you return to us.

Please keep a copy of the list of employees as you can use this to monitor when certificates have been issued and remind staff to send in their forms.

How to sign up

If you wish to go ahead and have your staff complete a PVG, please complete the next page and return to us at CPS in one of the following ways:

Questions

pvg.enquiries@cps.scot

Fax to 0131 467 7767, FAO PVG Team

Community Pharmacy Scotland, 42 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3NH

www.disclosurescotland.org.uk

If you have any questions about the PVG Scheme please contact the PVG Tea m by email pvg.enquiries@cps.scot or phone 0131 467 7766.

Payment Options

Once you decide if you are paying for your staff to be disclosed, or if you wish them to pay for themselves, please let us know on your Options Form.

Unfortunately we are unable to accept any type of Card Payment but you can pay in any of the following ways:

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Tel: 0131 467 7766 | Fax: 0131 467 7767

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Tel: 0131 467 7766 | Fax: 0131 467 7767

Email: pvg.enquiries@

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PVG Options Form (Please complete & return to CPS)

Issuing Application Forms (Please circle preferred options below)

Please send all application form packs to: Named Contact Contractor Codes

Do you need Police Act disclosure forms for delivery drivers?

Yes No

If you need Police Act disclosure forms for delivery drivers, how many do you need?

Convictions

Do you require any conviction information that may be on an employee’s Certificate?

Yes No

Payment Option

Bank Transfer Cheque Postal Order To Be Invoiced Cash

Company Details (Please print)

Company/Organisation Name

Named Contact

Named Contact Address

Phone Number

Fax Number

Email Address

Contact Details for Invoicing (if different from named contact)

I, the undersigned give my permission on behalf of the Company / Organisation named below for the Community Pharmacy Scotland PVG Team to securely destroy any documents relating to applications made to Disclosure Scotland on behalf of employees from the Company / Organisation named below.

Written Permission Slip

Company/Organisation Name

Named Contact (Please Print)

Named Contact Signature

Date

Written Perm ission Sheet (Please complete & return to CPS)

Contact Us

Community Pharmacy Scotland42 Queen StreetEdinburghEH2 3NH

Tel: 0131 467 7766Fax: 0131 467 7767pvg.enquiries@cps.scotwww.cps.scot