Church of England Confidential Declaration Guidance and Privacy Notice

The Confidential Declaration must be completed by all those wishing to work with children and/or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect.  It applies to all roles, including clergy, employees, ordinands and volunteers who are to be in substantial contact with children and/or adults experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect.

If you answer yes to any question, please give details, on a separate sheet if necessary, giving the number of the question that you are answering.

The Privacy Notice attached to this form (see page 5 onwards) explains how the information you supply in your Confidential Declaration is used and your rights with respect to that data as required by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018, (the “DPA 2018”).

If you do not complete this form, or if you do not give true, accurate and complete information in response to the questions it contains, this may amount to misconduct under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 and your appointment will not proceed.

1.	Have you ever been convicted of or charged with a criminal offence or been bound over to keep the peace that has not been filtered in accordance with the DBS filtering rules? (Include both ‘spent’ and ‘unspent’ convictions)	YES / NO

2.	Have you ever received a caution from the police (excluding youth cautions, reprimands or warnings) that has not been filtered in accordance with the DBS filtering rules? YES / NO

Notes applicable to questions 1 and 2: Declare all convictions, cautions, warnings, and reprimands etc. that are not subject to the DBS filtering rules. Please also provide details of the circumstances and/or reasons that led to the offence(s).

Broadly, where your position / role involves substantial contact with children and / or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect (i.e. where you are eligible for an enhanced criminal records check) you will be expected to declare all convictions and / or cautions etc., even if they are ‘spent’ provided they have not been filtered by the DBS filtering rules.

Convictions, cautions etc. and the equivalent obtained abroad must be declared as well as those received in the UK.

If you are unsure of how to respond to any of the above please seek advice from an appropriate independent representative (e.g. your solicitor) because any failure to disclose relevant convictions, cautions etc. could result in the withdrawal of approval to work with children and / or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect. Although it is important to note that the existence of a conviction, caution etc. will not necessarily bar you from working with vulnerable groups unless it will place such groups at risk.

3.	Are you at present (or have you ever been) under investigation by the police or an employer or the Church or other organisation for which you worked for any offence / misconduct? 
YES / NO

4.	Are you or have you ever been prohibited and / or barred from work with children and/or vulnerable adults? YES / NO

Notes applicable to question 4: You only need to mention if you have been placed on the DBS Barred List with regard to children and/or vulnerable adults if you will be taking up a position that involves engaging in “regulated activity” with children and/or vulnerable adults.  If you are unsure whether the position involves “regulated activity” please contact the appointing organisation/person.	

5.	Has a court ever made a finding of fact in relation to you, that you have ill-treated, neglected or otherwise caused harm to a child and / or vulnerable adult, or has any court made an order against you on the basis of any finding or allegation that any child and / or vulnerable adult was at risk of ill-treatment, neglect or other significant harm from you? YES / NO

6.	Has your conduct ever caused or been likely to cause ill-treatment, neglect or other harm to a child and /or vulnerable adult, and/or put a child or vulnerable adult at risk of ill-treatment, neglect or other harm? YES / NO

Note: if you have answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions above, please give details here:

7.	To your knowledge, has there ever been an allegation made against you (whether substantiated or not) that your conduct has amounted to or resulted in ill-treatment, neglect or other harm to a child and/or vulnerable adult, or putting a child or vulnerable adult at risk of ill-treatment, neglect or other harm? YES / NO

8.	Have you ever had any allegation made against you, which has been reported/referred to, and investigated by the Police/Social Services/Social Work Department (Children or Adult’s Social Care)? YES/NO

Note:  if you have answered ‘yes’ to questions 7 and/or 8, please give details, which may include the date(s) and nature of the allegation, and whether you were dismissed, disciplined, moved to other work or resigned from any paid or voluntary work as a result:

	

Note: Declare any complaints or allegations made against you, however long ago (including Domestic Abuse).  Checks will be made with the relevant authorities.

9.	Has a child in your care or for whom you have or had parental responsibility ever been removed from your care, placed by you in care, subject to child protection planning, subject to a care order, a supervision order, a child assessment order or an emergency protection order under the Children Act 1989, or a similar order under any other legislation? YES / NO

10.	Has a child in your care or for whom you have or had parental responsibility ever been in the care of the local authority, or been accommodated by the local authority? YES / NO

11.	If you are working from home with children, is there anyone who is 16 years of age or over living or employed in your household who has ever been charged with, cautioned or convicted in relation to any criminal offence not subject to DBS filtering rules; or is that person at present the subject of a criminal investigation/pending prosecution? YES/NO/Not Applicable

If yes, please give details including the nature of the offence(s) and the dates. Please give any further details, such as the reasons or circumstances, which led to the offence(s):

Note applicable to question 11: You are only required to answer this if you work from home with children. The DBS define home based working as where the applicant for the DBS check carries out some or all of his or her work with children or adults from the place where the applicant lives (this will include all clergy). 

Please inform relevant members of your household that you have included their details on this form (if applicable) and give them a copy of the Privacy Notice.

Note: All these matters shall be checked with the relevant authorities

Declaration
I declare the above information (and that on any attached sheets) is true, accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I declare that I have disclosed on a separate sheet any additional information I have which could be considered relevant to the questions in this Confidential Declaration.

After I have been appointed, I agree to inform my Bishop/Archbishop if I am charged, cautioned or convicted of any offence or if I become subject to a Police/Social Services/Social Work Department (Children or Adult’s Social Care) investigation. 

Signed…………………………………….

Full Name………………………………………	

Address………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Telephone Number……………………………………

Date…………………………………….

Please return the completed form to the Director of Studies, dawn.glen@gmail.com com.

Before an appointment can be made applicants who will have substantial contact with children and / or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect in their roles will be required to obtain an enhanced criminal record check (with or without a barred list check (as appropriate)) from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

All information declared on this form will be carefully assessed to decide whether it is relevant to the post applied for and will only be used for the purpose of safeguarding children, young people and / or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect.

Please note that the existence of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent a person from being appointed, it is only if the nature of any matters revealed may be considered to place a child and / or an adult experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect at risk.

Privacy Notice

This notice explains how the information you supply in your Confidential Declaration is used and your rights with respect to that data as required by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018, (the “DPA 2018”).

1. Who I/we are 

Derby Diocesan Board of Finance (DDBF) are the data controller (contact details below). This means we decide how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

2. The data we collect about you

I/we collect your name and address as provided by you in the Confidential Declaration Form, and where applicable, relevant conduct data and/or criminal offence data (including allegations); barring data; court findings or orders.

We also collect the following information about other individuals living or employed in your household who are over 16 years old, where applicable (see section 3, headed “Purposes and lawful bases for using your personal data” paragraph 3):
•	criminal offence data (including allegations); barring data; court findings or orders.

It is our expectation that you will inform these individuals that you have put their details on the CD form, and that you explain the reason for this.
3. Purposes and lawful bases for using your personal data 

The overall purpose of the confidential declaration is to ensure that I/we take all reasonable steps to prevent those who might harm children or adults from taking up positions of respect, responsibility or authority where they are trusted by others in accordance with the Safer Recruitment: Practice Guidance (2016). 

We use your data for the following purposes and lawful bases:

1.	Appointing individuals to positions of respect, responsibility or authority where they are trusted by others. 
2.	For the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser to conduct a risk assessment where applicant discloses information on the form.
3.	Collect information about members of your household for the purpose of undertaking a Disclosure and Barring Service check on them if you have applied for a role where you work from home with children.
It is the legitimate interest of DDBF to ensure that only appropriate individuals are appointed to certain positions, as established by the Promoting a Safer Church - House of Bishops Policy Statement (2017).  We also need to be assured that no member of your household poses any risk.

It is also necessary for reasons of substantial public interest in order to prevent or detect unlawful act and protect members of the public from harm, including dishonesty, malpractice and other seriously improper conduct or for the purposes of safeguarding children and adults at risk. (Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance (2016)).  

Legitimate Interest Assessment
We have a specific purpose with a defined benefit	The processing is an essential part of safer recruitment, to ensure that individuals appointed to positions of respect, responsibility or authority where they are trusted by others are properly vetted and pose no risk to children, vulnerable adults or the wider public.	
The processing is necessary to achieve the defined benefit. 	Without processing this data, there would be no assurance that suitable individuals are being appointed.	
The purpose is balanced against, and does not override, the interests, rights and freedoms of data subjects.	The risk of significant harm to others if inappropriate appointments are made outweighs the low risk to individuals of disclosing the data to us.  	
For a copy of the full Legitimate Interest Assessment, please contact us on the details included in section 7 headed “Complaints”.
 4. Sharing your data

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with those involved in the recruitment/appointment process and, where appropriate, the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser.  It may be shared outside the Church for the prevention or detection of an unlawful act; to protect members of the public from harm or safeguarding purposes, or as required by law, under Schedule 1, Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3 (as appropriate) of the Data Protection Act 2018, with the following:
  
•	Police
•	Children’s or Adults Social services in Local Authorities 
•	Statutory or regulatory agencies, (e.g. the DBS)

5. Data Retention

We keep your personal data, if your application is successful, for no longer than reasonably necessary for the periods and purposes as set out in the retention table below at the following link:
https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/Safeguarding%20Records-%20Retention%20Tool%20kit%20-Dec%2015.pdf 

If your application isn’t successful, your data will be held for 6 months after the recruitment process ends, and then destroyed.

6. Your Legal Rights and Complaints

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR or DPA 2018, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data: -

•	The right to be informed about any data we hold about you;
•	The right to request a copy of your personal data which we hold about you;
•	The right to request that we correct any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;
•	The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for us to retain such data;
•	The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;
•	The right to object to the processing of your personal data 
•	The right to obtain and reuse your personal data to move, copy or transfer it from one IT system to another. [only applicable for data held online] 
7. Complaints
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us using the details set out below. 
Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor Hannah Hogg hannah.hogg@derby.anglican.org

If you do not feel that your complaint has been dealt with appropriately, please contact the Diocesan Secretary, Kate Godfrey, by emailing kate.godfrey@derby.anglican.org 

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office. You can contact the Information Commissioners Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF.