1.        Introduction

1.1      Macclesfield Town Council uses the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for the assessment of Officers and Members whom, with their role, come into contact with children or vulnerable adults.

1.2      Macclesfield Town Council complies fully with the code of practice (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-code-of-practice) regarding the correct handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of certificates and certificate information.

1.3      It also complies fully with its obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018/UK GDPR and other relevant legislation pertaining to the safe handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of certificate information and has a written policy on these matters, which is available to those who wish to see it on request.

2.       Storage and access

2.1      Certificates, once received by the member/ officer, will be shown to the Admin and Governance Manager to be entered on to the Cheshire West and Chester DBS online system and then returned to the holder for safe keeping. Information can be accessed by the Town Clerk and Admin and Governance Manager through the Cheshire West and Chester secure online system. Where a basic DBS has been sought by an individual then the information in point 6.2 will be gathered.

3.       Handling

3.1      In accordance with section 124 of the Police Act 1997, certificate information is only passed to those who are authorised to receive it in the course of their duties, these being the Town Clerk and the Admin and Governance Manager who are registered on Cheshire West and Chester Disclosures online system to apply for DBS checks.

4.       Usage

4.1      Certificate information will only be used for the specific purpose for which it was requested.

5        Retention

5.1      Certificate information will be retained for a period of 3 years plus the current year, as stated in the ‘Retention of Documents Policy’- Annex A- A1.1.3. This retention will allow for the consideration and resolution of any disputes or complaints or for the purpose of completing safeguarding audits.

5.2      Throughout this time, the usual conditions regarding the safe storage and strictly controlled access will prevail.

6.       Disposal

6.1      Once the retention period has elapsed, Macclesfield Town Council will ensure that any DBS information is destroyed from our spreadsheet.

6.2      Macclesfield Town Council will not keep any photocopy or other image of the certificate or any copy or representation of the contents of a certificate. However, not withstanding the above, Macclesfield Town Council may keep a record of the date of issue of a certificate, the name of the subject, the type of certificate requested, the position for which the certificate was requested, the unique reference number of the certificates and the details of the recruitment decision taken.

7.       Umbrella body

7.1      Cheshire West and Chester Council acts as the umbrella body for the purposes of the Disclosure and Barring Service for Macclesfield Town Council.

7.2      Macclesfield Town Council will not act as an umbrella body for any organisations.