Schools could have to pay for their own criminal background checks

A saving of £65,000 proposed by Powys County Council’s employment service would see schools request and pay for individual DBS checks.

This is because a Service Level Agreement between schools and the employment service is set to come to an end.

The proposal was discussed at a meeting of the learning and skills scrutiny committee on February 1.

Councillor Peter Roberts, who is also committee chairman, said: “It’s just a transfer, it will cost the authority money as you’ll have to raise an invoice to the school which is a cost. The money is moving around council budgets. It’s recycling money.

“It really does seem to be robbing Peter to pay Paul, it means schools will have to make cuts elsewhere.”

Head of workforce and organisational development, Paul Bradshaw said: “We undertake about 27,000 DBS checks a year for around 4,000 organisations including the council and schools.

“That turns over about £1.1 million and from that we make a surplus, and from that we’ve been paying for the schools DBS checks."

Director of education, Lynette Lovell explained that the proposal removed the blanket approach taken on DBS checks and that some schools may not need to do them for some years.

Education portfolio holder Councillor Phyl Davies said: “The point is, the SLA was good for the schools but it’s no longer viable. That cost should lie with the schools.”

All Powys scrutiny committees are looking in detail at proposals that will make up £7.7 million that need to be made in cuts, savings, and income generation to balance the budget by the end of March 2023.

The committee’s views on the savings proposal will form part of an overall report by scrutiny committees that will go to the Independent/Conservative cabinet to look before they finalise their draft budget later this month.