Carers

Baroness Thomas of Winchester
asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they plan to make it compulsory for those in receipt of direct payments for care to have potential carers checked by the Criminal Records Bureau. [HL3139]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham)
Direct payments recipients can ask their local authority to carry out a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) check on a potential carer if they wish to do so.

We encourage people to have checks carried out; however, we do not intend to make this a compulsory requirement. To do so may not be appropriate in all cases—for example, where a person wishes to employ a family member or a personal friend as their carer.

Checks should not be necessary when carers are employed via a registered domiciliary care agency, as CRB and POVA checks on their staff will have already been undertaken.