March 2020
Disclosure Scotland have been working closely with the Scottish Government regarding the current situation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
As you are aware Disclosure Scotland have begun a process of prioritising checks for those who are key workers during this time.
To help the prioritisation of processing applications as of Monday 30th March, 2020, Disclosure Scotland will no longer be accepting paper applications.
- All applications now need to be done via the website by Countersignatories of Registered Bodies only.
- The applications will then be processed by Disclosure Scotland through a priority service
- Disclosure Scotland will then email us a notification of the outcome, wherever possible, prior to receiving the paper certificate in a quicker time frame
- If it is not possible for Disclosure Service to email notification of the outcome, either you will have to wait for the paper certificate to be issued or Disclosure Scotland will send out a notification stating that they have been unable to prioritise the application at this time, and that they are unable to give a time frame for completion of the application
If Disclosure Scotland do not send a disclosure, either by email or certificate, it is important that you do not assume that this is because they are late or have made a mistake. A small number of applications need Disclosure Scotland to be fully operational to process them and that is impossible at this time.
Disclosure Scotland are providing a safeguarding service to ensure the vast majority of applicants can get cleared to help with coronavirus.
As it stands the list of prioritised roles remains:
- Healthcare
- Pharmaceutical
- Childcare
- Social work
- Social care
- Prisons and justice
As the situation develops and evolves, the list of prioritised sectors may change as Disclosure Scotland identifies other sectors with roles critical to supporting the Scottish Government during this crisis.