Date revealed for start of new vetting scheme

All employers must send their referrals for List 99 and the Protection of Children Act list - which record the names of people banned from working with children - to the ISA rather than the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department of Health from this date.

An ISA spokesman said: "This should not cause any disruption for employers. It will hopefully mean minimal change with the main difference being that referrals are sent to a different place."

But as CYP Now was going to press, the ISA had still not released these new contact details. It has pledged to have them in place by the 20 January deadline. A series of roadshows is also being organised to explain the work of the new organisation to employers.

The ISA was set up through the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, which followed the Bichard Inquiry into the murders of schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by school caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002.

The authority will eventually assess all those working with children and vulnerable adults. Among the first to be scrutinised will be those in the sector who have not yet had a Criminal Records Bureau check.