The independent social policy think tank Civitas has today called for the scrapping of the controversial Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS). The story has been picked up by the national media, including the BBC. In a press release, the organisation stated:
With the imminent results of the Coalition Government’s major review of the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS), which regulates contact between adults and any child not their own, independent think tank Civitas releases a new edition of Licensed to Hug, which insists the Government must get rid of the VBS once and for all. The dramatic escalation of child protection measures, such as the VBS, has created an atmosphere of suspicion that actually increases the risks to children and damages relations between the generations.
In April this year, a poll by The Tutor Pages also revealed widespread opposition to the Scheme among private tutors.
In a recent blog post on Saturday, I summarized the major arguments against the VBS and drew attention to alternative bureaucratic measures for child protection in the private tuition industry, including CRB checks and the recent roll-out of ‘Sarah’s Law’.
Henry Fagg is the founder of