Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020: A statement from our Chief Executive

Today, we implement the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. The Disclosure Act aims to protect the public, while balancing the need for people to move on from offending and simplify the process for disclosing criminal history information. 

We have been on a continuous journey since the law passed in 2020, we had to replace our legacy system and build a new platform, as well as innovate exciting new digital services. Each phase has come and gone and, together with our partners and stakeholders, we have delivered time and again on our promises to customers and saved the government millions in the process. 

Membership of the PVG scheme is now a legal requirement for those seeking to work with children and protected adults; people will have more control over their disclosure information and referral powers for Councils and Integration Joint Boards commences, making our most vulnerable and hard-to-reach citizens safer. There has been so much hard work from those involved within Disclosure Scotland who have an unerring passion for protecting the public and making our services and organisation as good as they can be. I would like to personally thank the whole organisation for getting us to the milestone attained today. 

Along the way, we have invested hugely in modernising our services. Every disclosure product is now available online for our customers, from the application process through to viewing disclosure results.  

Our partnership with the Scottish Government Digital Directorate has been invaluable in implementing our online account service and keeping customers' disclosure information safe and secure. As the first organisation to use ScotAccount  online sign in and verification service we led the way for other public sector organisations in getting public services securely online.  

Disclosure Scotland’s number one priority is the protection of vulnerable groups in Scotland and today marks an important milestone in that role, with more to come as we implement the remaining elements of the new law in the months ahead.

Gerard Hart

Chief Executive Officer, Disclosure Scotland