The Scottish Government have announced that they will pay the cost of Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme applications for eligible social care workers. Applications normally cost £18 for existing members and £59 for individuals joining the PVG scheme plus ARC’s administration fee. For eligible applications (see below), there will only be ARC’s administration fee payable.
This waiver applies to PVG scheme applications received by Disclosure Scotland between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027.
Who can get a fee waiver
The waiver applies to workers in social care commissioned services in the private, voluntary and independent sectors.
To qualify, the applicant must:
- be taking up a new job, or taking up a new position with your existing employer, in an eligible role (listed below), and
- have made a PVG scheme application between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027
Eligible roles
The applicant must be working in a new role as a manager, supervisor, practitioner or support worker, in one of the following service areas.
Adult services:
- care homes
- care at home services
- day care services
- housing support
- adult placement services
- respite services
Children’s services:
- care homes for children and young people
- residential school care accommodation
- secure accommodation services
- care at home and housing support for under 18s
How to apply
If the eligible role requires membership of the PVG scheme apply as normal making sure you include the prefix “FSC” in the ‘Position Applied For’ field, alongside the job title. The inclusion of the prefix FSC in the position will indicate to Disclosure Scotland that this is an eligible role.
If FSC is not add to the proforma application position applied for field then the full fee will be charged.