Challenor showing off their 'new' birth certificate

[MrsSnippyPants]

I will never accept this 'legal fiction, it is a travesty.

Right I’ve sent an email to my MP. Not something I ever thought I’d be doing from a sunbed

I’ve not quoted anyone’s posts in the end as I thought I would keep it fairly short & simple. I’ll obviously feedback if & when I hear back.

I’ve often thought the only way to really keep children safe is to put recording cctv everywhere that is appropriate and where there isn’t you would have to have at least 2 adults present at all times. Would reduce risk further but would have to apply everywhere from education to churches.

That is ridiculous - and would be a vast invasion of privacy. And would you have CCTV in Doctors Surgeries? The School nurses office? Therapists rooms?

And I'm not concerned about just children. I have to have a DBS as part of my job. Children are at no risk from me (or my colleagues) as we are never alone with them. We need the DBS in part because we may come across vulnerable adults - although we have procedures if someone appears vulnerable - that isn't always apparent until we've spent some time talking to them.

If the DBS is so worthless - that it can be side stepped so it won't even show the limited data held by the police, then the whole system needs a massive overhaul. And even worse in some roles the previous thorough security checks have been superseded by DBS - so we could have huge security holes as a result of its introduction.

Is this still the same for an enhanced DBS check where the local police are contacted for any information and what about the check for not having any known sex offenders living at the same address? There was a recent case where a headteacher lost her job because she began a relationship with an offender and he moved in and she couldn't then get clearence? No links unfortunately. This scenario seems so far from the original ethos of the old CRB checks.

Could you please contact the team on the above number/s or alternatively provide a contact number for us to call you.
We can then further discuss your query.

In other words, 'we don't want to put anything in writing'. I have often had this response when asking awkward questions from lots of companies and organisation.

In other words, 'we don't want to put anything in writing'. I have often had this response when asking awkward questions from lots of companies and organisation

Is it legal to record a conversation?

I am wondering if the DBS are aware of this thread. It shouldn't stop them answering my question accurately if our concerns are unfounded.

If you are reading this DBS, this is not the end of the matter.

I sometimes work in schools and when I arrive I'm asked if I'm DBS checked. I'm not (although I do plan to be soon) and because I'm not, I'm given a different colour visitor pass and I'm not permitted to be on my own without teacher chaperoning etc. Exactly as it should be. There are different safeguarding rules that apply to me because I don't have one. It might be a flaky system but people working with kids will make different decisions about you at ground level based on whether or not you have one.

littlecabbage
You could be an aspiring free lance journalist writing a piece that you are pitching to newspapers?

Good to see that not everyone is convinced...

littlecabbage you're deaf no?

May I just say well done on this matter. When I told my DH he was visibly distressed (he works in a nursery). What concerns me is where people have 1:1 access to children, eg a childminder, a role which is predominantly female based.

I have recently done a DBS check and had to provide (I think it was) 10 years worth of addresses. Would a name change not be picked up via a list of addresses somehow? Would they check say convictions at the address as well as linked to a person? That being said at some point 10 years will lapse and prior convictions would be lost if not declaring previous identities.

In other words, 'we don't want to put anything in writing'. I have often had this response when asking awkward questions from lots of companies and organisation.

Wow. I would take this as confirmation that you have identified a loophole, and they do indeed not want to admit this in writing.

Interesting - they're more concerned with upholding the system, than safeguarding.

I did reply again to the DBS this morning, asking them to respond to my question via email, and have heard nothing back all day.

So I have contacted a well-known journalist to see if they would be interested in investigating/publishing this information.

Good work Ali1cedowntherabbithole.

cabbage thank you for pursuing this

Good job littlecabbage - also worth mentioning if anyone has any concerns about a registered nurse or midwife who they are worried may have passed a DBS check by not disclosing previous names, addresses and convictions they can report them to the NMC here - www.nmc.org.uk/concerns-nurses-midwives/support-for-patients-families-and-public/when-to-raise-a-concern/

Well done littlecabbage

Thanks but I am always in awe at the amazing lengths many women on these boards go to in order to protect women and children from various threats. This is pretty tiny in comparison to them. Every little helps though

You're amazing Cabbage. You've been very articulate, yet practical, with them.

This is sinister and should not be allowed, because it's an untruth, a falsehood. Sex is not the same as gender identity. They will always be the male sex and I think that is vitally important information legally and also for things like statistics, jobs, safeguarding, medicine etc.

Well done cabbage and I hope a journalist follows this up. It’s horrific to think this could provide an easy loop hole for predatory males - which is exactly what we’ve all been worried about for years and been told we are hysterical bigots

Finally got round to reading this thread; I salute you all the wonderful women of mn fwr!

Fecking humungous loophole there. Hope you get the reporter to report on this cabbage, well done on your investigations.

In other words, 'we don't want to put anything in writing'. I have often had this response when asking awkward questions from lots of companies and organisation.

This is how my DH deals with this problem at work:

take notes during the call, summarise the salient points in an email (referring to the date and time of the call and the person you spoke to). Send it to the contact you are dealing with, informing them this is your understanding of the other side's position. Then ask them to correct anything you got wrong.

Thereby you get written evidence, in one of two ways:

either they don't respond, in which case, as per your statement in the email, they have accepted your summary.

Or they dispute your summary by responding to your email thereby putting their position in writing. If they call you to correct whatever errors they think you made, you repeat the process.