Introduction to the PVG Scheme

Your Guide to the PVG Application Process

About the PVG Scheme

Background

The Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) (Scotland) Act 2007 came into being as a

response to the Birchad Inquiry report that called for a registration scheme for all those

who work with children and vulnerable adults.

The PVG Scheme covers all kinds of regulated work and pharmacists take part in that

regulated work in their role as responsible pharmacists.

Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) acted to support our pharmacy contractors to

comply with this new legislation by becoming a Registered Umbrella Body with

Disclosure Scotland.

How we can help

The PVG Team at CPS will handle all aspects of the administration of the scheme on

behalf of our members with contractors only having to cover the cost of the Disclosure

Scotland fees.

About the PVG Scheme

Once the (PVG) (Scotland) Act 2007 was passed it became a criminal offence to

knowingly employ anyone who is on a Disclosure Scotland barred list.

The PVG Scheme allows contractors to check that their pharmacists are not on any

barred list by having them disclosed and your company name becomes listed as an

‘interested party’ on the pharmacists Disclosure Scotland file. Disclosure Scotland

receives daily updates from the police, courts, social work departments and other

relevant parties. If any of your pharmacist’s status was to change you as an ‘interested

party’ would be informed by Disclosure Scotland.

The Application Process

Our aim at CPS is to guide you through the application process as easily as possible. We

will pre-process and countersign your applications before sending them to Disclosure

Scotland for the disclosure. Once we have your applications it takes about 21-28 days to

receive the certificates.

Questions

If you have any questions about the PVG Scheme you can contact a member of the CPS

PVG Team by phone on 0131 467 7766 or by email pvg.enquiries@cps.scot. Our office is

open between 8:30am and 6pm Monday to Friday.

Introduction to the PVG Scheme

How to get started

We need a named contact within the company to liaise with our PVG Team. Often the

best person is the HR manager or a Pharmacy Superintendent.

Who should apply for PVG?

Pharmacists including

Pre-Registration

Pharmacists

Yes

Pharmacists do regulated work covered by the PVG Scheme.

Locum Pharmacists

Yes

All locums who work for you on a regular

basis. Due to the timescale involved it is not

possible to disclose and become an ‘interested

party’ for any short term or emergency

bookings but the locums used may already be

PVG Scheme Members.

Agency Locums

No

It is the responsibility of the agency to

make sure the locum is disclosed and the

agency is the ‘interested party’. Please

check when booking.

Contractor Owners

Optional

If you are the pharmacy owner and take part

in regulated work in the pharmacy, you don’t

need to be disclosed as you contract with the

Health Board. If you became a barred

person, the Health Board would be informed

through the relevant regulatory body. As a

director you should class yourself as a

company employee and can then apply to be

disclosed if you wish.

Delivery Drivers

No

Delivery drivers do not do regulated work so

they don’t need to join the PVG Scheme.

However, they should apply for a Police Act

Disclosure Certificate.

Unfortunately, we don’t process these

forms, but we can supply them to you.

These forms should be returned

directly to Disclosure Scotland.

There are a few different types of Disclosure Scotland certificates that your pharmacists

may already have but not all of them are part of the PVG Scheme.

We have created a table on the next page which will help you to check the status of

your pharmacists and what type of application form and record they need to apply for.

PVG Membership Status Chart

Member

Type of

Certificate

Application

Form Required

Type of Record to Apply for

• PVG Scheme

Record

Existing PVG

Member Application

If you are already disclosed for both

protected adults and children, you need to

apply for a Scheme Record Update for both

protected adults and children. Select Yes for

Question A3 on the form.

• PVG Short Scheme

Record Disclosure

If you are disclosed for protected adults only

or children only, you need to apply for a

Scheme Record for both.

Select No for Question A3 on the form.

• PVG Scheme

Membership

Statement

Existing PVG

Member Application

You need to apply for a Scheme Record for

both protected adults and children.

Select Yes or No for Question A3 on the

form depending on what you have already

been disclosed for.

Please note that the PVG Scheme

Membership Statement cannot be updated

and your company cannot be listed as an

interested party.

Not a Member

• Basic

Application to Join

You need to apply for a Scheme Record for

• Standard

PVG Scheme both protected adults and children.

• Enhanced

Disclosure

• If you have never

had any type of

disclosure

certificate before

Application to Join

PVG Scheme

You need to apply for a Scheme Record for

both protected adults and children.

Lost Certificate/Unsure

If you have lost your current certificate, or are unsure if you have been disclosed

before, you should contact Disclosure Scotland’s hotline on 03000 2000 40 and

select Option 3. You will need to find out the answers to the questions below. You

can use the table below to note down this information.

Certificate Type:

PVG Membership Number:

Are you disclosed for both

protected adults & children?

Address on your certificate:

Please note: If any of your details have changed since you received your current

certificate, you should select Yes for question B7 on the Existing PVG Member

Application Form and provide a sheet of paper with your new details on it with your

application. (e.g. change of address)

New Employees

When a new pharmacist joins your company, you should ask them about their PVG

status. If they are not a PVG Scheme Member and you wish to register as an ‘interested

party’ you should request that they join the Scheme.

If they are already a PVG Scheme Member, they should apply for a Scheme

Record Update for your company to become an ‘interested party’.

Employees who resign

If a pharmacist leaves your company, you should inform Disclosure Scotland that you

are no longer an ‘interested party’. Thereafter you will no longer receive any information

about that person. Either party can notify Disclosure Scotland but if the pharmacist

contacts Disclosure Scotland they will contact you to confirm.

Certificates

When Disclosure Scotland issues a certificate both the pharmacist and CPS will receive a

copy. We will get in touch with your named contact by email and provide the following

information:

● PVG Scheme Membership Number

● Type of Certificate issued

● Disclosure Number (Certificate number that will change with each disclosure made)

● Date of Issue

Conviction Information on Certificates

During the disclosure process there might be information released about past convictions

on the certificate, none of which would have affected the outcome of the PVG disclosure

as the certificate was granted. You can choose if you would like to have this information

passed to you.

The Scottish Government is keen to ensure that members of the community who may

have convictions are not unfairly treated in the process of considering them for positions

of trust. It is recommended that employers should have a written policy on the

recruitment of people who have been convicted. For more information on convictions,

please visit the section below on the Scottish Government website:

www.gov.uk/exoffenders-and-employment

Application Forms

We can send the application forms to your named contact or to the Contractor codes on

the list you return to us.

Please keep a copy of the list of employees as you can use this to monitor when

certificates have been issued and remind staff to send in their forms.

How to sign up

If you wish to go ahead and have your staff complete a PVG, please fill out the PVG

Employee List and return to us at CPS in one of the following ways:

pvg.enquiries@cps.scot

Fax to 0131 467 7767, FAO PVG Team

Community Pharmacy Scotland, 42 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3NH

Questions

If you have any questions about the PVG Scheme, please contact the PVG Team

by email pvg.enquiries@cps.scot or phone 0131 467 7766.

Payment Options

Once you decide if you are paying for your staff to be disclosed, or if you wish them to

pay for themselves, please let us know on your Options Form.

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept any type of Card Payment, but you can pay in

any of the following ways:

PVG Employee List

(Please keep a copy)

Contractor

Code

Employee’s

Name

Application

to Join

PVG Form

Existing

PVG

Member

Form

Scheme

Record (SR)

Or Scheme

Record

Update (SRU)

Paid for by

Contractor

Paid for

by

Applicant

P: Pharmacist

L: Locum

or

PR: Pre-Reg

E-mail received to

confirm certificate

has been granted

Community Pharmacy Scotland, 42 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3NH

Tel: 0131 467 7766 | Fax: 0131 467 7767

Email: pvg.enquiries@cps.scot | Web: www.cps.scot

PVG Employee List

(Please keep a copy)

Contractor

Code

Employee’s

Name

Application

to Join

PVG Form

Existing

PVG

Member

Form

Scheme

Record (SR)

Or Scheme

Record

Update (SRU)

Paid for by

Contractor

Paid for

by

Applicant

P: Pharmacist

L: Locum

or

PR: Pre-Reg

E-mail received to

confirm certificate

has been granted

Community Pharmacy Scotland, 42 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3NH

Tel: 0131 467 7766 | Fax: 0131 467 7767

Email: pvg.enquiries@cps.scot | Web: www.cps.scot

PVG Options Form (Please complete & return to CPS)

Company Details (Please print)

Company/Organisation Name

Named Contact

Named Contact Address

Phone Number

Fax Number

Email Address

Contact Details for Invoicing

(if different from named contact)

Issuing Application Forms (Please circle preferred options below)

Please send all application

form packs to:

Named Contact

Contractor Codes

Do you need Police Act

disclosure forms for delivery

drivers?

Yes

No

If you need Police Act

disclosure forms for delivery

drivers, how many do you

need?

Convictions

Do you require any conviction

information that may be on an

employee’s Certificate?

Yes

No

Payment Options

Bank Transfer Cheque Postal Order To Be Invoiced Cash

Written Permission Slip (Please complete & return to CPS)

I, the undersigned give my permission on behalf of the Company / Organisation named

below for the Community Pharmacy Scotland PVG Team to securely destroy any

documents relating to applications made to Disclosure Scotland on behalf of employees

from the Company / Organisation named below.

Written Permission Slip

Company / Organisation Name

Named Contact (Please Print)

Named Contact Signature

Date

Contact Us

Community Pharmacy Scotland

42 Queen Street

Edinburgh EH2 3NH

Tel: 0131 467 7766

Fax: 0131 467 7767

pvg.enquiries@cps.scot

www.cps.scot