Delays in the process to get a PVG check have had an impact on the lives of ordinary people around Scotland.

We investigate some of the local examples and what’s being done to improve the process of applying for these vital checks after legislative changes came into effect earlier this year.

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We’ve probably all heard of Disclosure Scotland, the Scottish Government agency which handles background checks so we can safeguard the nation’s children and protected adults in Scotland.

Based in Glasgow, the organisation handles hundreds of thousands of vetting checks annually.

Changes introduced in April 2025 to tighten up the rules around disclosure background checks and the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) process were widely welcomed. There’s also been a drive to move the process away from the paper-based certificates, to a fully digital platform. The agency says that a PVG check should be processed and received back with 14 days from the date it was submitted.

PVG’s and disclosure checks are required for a variety of roles, from volunteers in youth clubs, to workers in our social care settings, schools and hospitals. The changes recently introduced also made it a legal requirement for people in positions of ‘power or influence’, like charity trustees or supervisors, who might have no direct contact with kids or vulnerable adults, to become PVG members and have checks performed on them. A grace period of 3 months to allow organisations to prepare for the new rules, from April to July 2025, saw a huge “wave of activity” according to Volunteer Scotland.

Local resident ‘Mark’ – who asked us not to use his real name incase this affected his employment – has been out of work for a while and applied for a role with a Kirkcaldy employer in June. He was invited to interview and was offered the position a few days later. A PVG check was required for the new job and, as an existing PVG member, Mark thought the process would be swift and easy. He shared with us that he has no unspent convictions and nothing in his background that he believes would prevent him from doing this work or receiving a ‘clean’ PVG check.

But after 12 weeks, Mark’s waiting on his PVG and hasnt been able to start his new job. He’s spent the last 3 months on Universal Credit, with just £340, after paying his rent, to live off each month.

Fighting back tears, Mark told us, “It’s incredible that after all this time I still dont have my PVG back. It’s the lack of any help whatsoever from Disclosure Scotland that I find most frustrating. I’ve called them more than 5 times and each time been on hold to speak to an advisor for nearly 2 hours. When I do get through, they just tell me its with their Vetting Department and it’ll be done when it’s done and there’s nothing else they can do! How are folk supposed to live like that? I’ve spent months on benefits when I dont want to be on the dole, I want to work, I have a job offer and I want to get started, but I’m waiting on this background check. I completely understand the need for these checks, but it shouldn’t take this long – it’s unbelievable. I cannot be the only one going through this. I feel like there’s nowehere to turn.”

And we’ve discovered there are more examples in the community where delays at Disclosure Scotland are having real consequences on ordinary people.

Kelly volunteers with a local horse riding group for young kids. The group supports young people gain confidence in riding and being around horses, building team bonds and learning life skills along the way. The team regularly travel to competitions around Scotland and enjoy the activities they take part in.

Recent changes to the PVG rules mean all the volunteers that support the kids or help on the committee need a check. 12 applications were sent off in June and 6 were returned after apparently failing address checks due to a ‘mismatch’, despite their addresses all being correct. Additional proofs of address were required, which Disclosure Scotland later confirmed had been an error. The PVG checks were eventually released after 5 weeks.

Kelly told us “Folk were really stressed about it, we thought some volunteers were going to have to step back from their roles and the information we were being told by Disclosure Scotland was just so vague and then contradictory. It seemed a completely chaotic situation for such an important safeguarding process.”

Radio Cowdenbeath has also spoken to several people due to head out to local schools and nurseries on educational placements, which also require PVG checks. Despite applications being submitted more than 3 weeks in advance of the placement, nearly half of the 60-plus students have been told they cannot attend as their PVG checks have not been processed.

One student said her class had been in “uproar” about the situation and folk were upset that their education was being impacted by the delays.

Volunteer Scotland, who administer the disclosure application process on behalf of charities and voluntary bodies around the country, said they’ve had a 70% increase in applications between April and June 2025 in comparison to the previous year.

So what is going on at Disclosure Scotland?

In a response to our Freedom of Information request, Disclosure Scotland say just 59.4% of PVG checks were processed within the 14 day target in July 2025.

The volume of PVG checks nearly doubled from the previous year, with 49,765 applications completed in July 2025, compared to 25,361 in the same month in 2024 – a 96.2% increase.

Given the legislative changes, prudent planning would mean the agency would invest in extra staff to help with the predicted extra volume of applications, but with applications up by over 96%, staffing was increased by just 13%.

Official figures demonstrate the agency increased its headcount from 168 FTE in April to 190 in July, mostly in temporary agency staff.

Disclosure Scotland say things are improving though, with applications received between 1st July and 31st August being processed on average in 12 days.

Disclosure Scotland’s Chief Executive, Gerard Hart, said: “Disclosure Scotland’s number one priority is the safeguarding of children and protected adults. The delays in the summer resulted from a huge surge in applications following membership of the PVG scheme becoming a legal requirement. The number of applications received reflects the scope of the gap which Parliament sought to close by making the PVG scheme a legal requirement for people carrying out roles with children and protected adults. 

“The recent surge in applications provided us with a valuable opportunity to sustainably improve our processes and performance. Furthermore, we have provided regular performance updates to Ministers throughout this period.  

“Despite continued high volumes, I am pleased to confirm that performance has returned to our normal range and continues to improve.” 

In relation to the address mismatch issues we raised, the agency said “Following major releases in February and April 2025, we identified that a legacy process related to address validation was introducing unnecessary complexity and potential for error without delivering meaningful value. Consequently, we have removed this process and no longer classify ‘address mismatches’ in the same way. Instead, we now request additional information from all applicants only when it is genuinely required, reducing unnecessary queries and improving overall efficiency.”

You can read the full response to our Freedom of Information request here.

At the date of publishing this article, 25th September 2025, Mark had still not received his PVG check. Disclosure Scotland said they make ‘no such assessment’ of the economic impact of delays to processing PVG checks.

Image credit: Disclosure Scotland social media