Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine: guidance for local authorities

Person Checks (Disclosure Scotland)

All hosts providing accommodation, whether in their own homes or in a separate property, will need to apply for Level 2 with barred list check when they register for both the Super Sponsor scheme and Homes for Ukraine scheme. Read more information on disclosure checks in the People arriving from Ukraine - risk and need: public protection guidance.

Welfare checks

Councils are expected to make at least one in-person visit once the guest(s) has arrived. This welfare check enables the council to see whether there are any welfare concerns or formal assessments that should be undertaken.

Factors to consider

Offending behaviour

A local authority may consider that if a person has shown offending behaviour, then they’re unsuitable to be a host and provide accommodation in their home. This would apply to all adults living in the home. 

Types of conduct

A Level 2 with barred list disclosure check may include information about other types of conduct that may be relevant to a person’s suitability to host. The type of conduct may include, but is not limited to: 

Violence

Examples include:

• any physical injury caused to another person either with or without use of a weapon
• domestic abuse including violence
• any use of force or coercion for personal gain or to achieve another person’s compliance
• violence towards animals

Inappropriate or harmful sexual harmful conduct

Examples include:

• inappropriate or unwanted touching, kissing, fondling, masturbation or oral sex
• possessing, creating, or distributing child abuse images
• establishing inappropriate relationships
• sending inappropriate text and/or photo communications via telephone or social media platform to another person
• engaging in grooming behaviours towards another person
• using sexualised or suggestive language towards another person
• forcing or enticing another person to undress
• forcing or enticing another person to have sexual intercourse or engaging in other penetrative activity
• forcing or enticing someone to engage in prostitution

Dishonest conduct

Examples include:

• stealing money or personal property from another person
• fraud
• misappropriating money
• extortion or bribery

Other abusive, harmful or inappropriate conduct

Examples include:

• any form of threatening or violent behaviour targeted at someone because of their gender or affects one gender disproportionately including physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse and violence
• domestic abuse
• bullying or intimidation
• discrimination or hate based on race, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity
• aggressive or threatening language or behaviour
• stalking, harassment, manipulation or coercive control
• physical neglect or failing to provide basic care and welfare needs
• being involved in the trafficking and/or supply of drugs
• recklessness
• people trafficking
• exploitation for personal gain

There might be more than one area of concern depending on the facts and circumstances of each case. It also depends on the amount and nature of information contained on a check.

For further information see:

• National guidance for child protection in Scotland
• Adult Support and Protection
• Protecting children from harmful sexual behaviour

Relevance and proximity

It may firstly be helpful to identify what the local authority is concerned about happening in the context of providing accommodation under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. For example, if a person has shown a capacity for violence this may indicate they could resort to violence in other circumstances.

Identifying and weighing up factors relating to a person’s past behaviour with factors which may be relevant in the context of hosting arrangements (including whether the hosting arrangements may present opportunities for a repeat of the past behaviour), may help local authorities in making a decision on whether the past behaviour is relevant and proximate in each case.

Factors relevant to the hosting arrangements may include, for example:

• whether the arrangement involves hosts (or other adults within the host accommodation) living in the same accommodation as guests or in separate accommodation. Certain types of behaviour may be more relevant and proximate if the host (or other adult within the host accommodation) will be living in the same accommodation as the guest(s)
• whether the guests include children or vulnerable adults
• whether the host (or other adults within the host accommodation) will be involved in providing support or assistance to guests such as driving them, or helping with the care of young children or elderly guests

Factors relevant to the past behaviour may include, for example:

• the seriousness of the behaviour. Behaviour that is not seriously harmful may be less proximate. The sentence imposed by the court who convicted the individual can be helpful as a guide to the seriousness of the offence. However, sentences should be treated with caution as it’s possible that serious offending may be dealt with by the court with a low-level penalty due to the specific circumstances of a case. Considering the facts and circumstances of each case will be important and further information may be necessary
• whether a child or vulnerable person was harmed or exposed to risk of harm as a result of the behaviour
• whether the behaviour occurred a long time ago or is recent. Behaviour that occurred a long time ago may be less proximate due to the passage of time. However, this is not true of all types of behaviour. For example, in relation to sexual offenders, the passage of time may not be a reliable predictor for future behaviour. So for sexual offending, the passage of time on its own should not overcome a high level of caution about sexual offending in potential hosts, even sexual offending as an adolescent
• whether the behaviour was a ‘one off’ or whether it has been repeated. Behaviour that involved an isolated incident may be less proximate, although this factor may weigh less where the behaviour was of a serious nature. A pattern of behaviour may indicate a person has difficulty in desisting from such behaviour. Desistence from offending should also be treated with caution where the past conduct was of a very serious nature, such as serious violence or sexual misconduct where:
  • the person has lived abroad since and there may be no information on convictions they got while in another country
  • the person has been serving a long period of imprisonment or has been under the requirements of a supervision order
  • the person has been incapacitated for health reasons for a prolonged period
• whether the behaviour happened when the person was a child or adolescent, or whether they are now an adult who has not committed a crime for a number of years. Serious harmful offences in a person’s past should always be considered carefully

Support for local authorities

Disclosure Scotland have a dedicated team in Disclosure Scotland to support local authorities in handling disclosure checks for individuals hosting displaced Ukrainians in their homes.

If you have any questions about disclosure checks for hosts and those adults aged over 16 years within the host accommodation:

• email Disclosure Scotland’s Customer Engagement team: DSCEDutyManagerMailbox@disclosurescotland.gov.scot
• call the Disclosure Scotland helpline on 0300 020 0040 - this is open Monday to Wednesday 9am to 4pm, Thursday 11am to  4pm and Friday 9am to 3:30pm

Guidance and links

If you are going to consider hosts or other adults within the host accommodation who are providing accommodation within their own homes whose Level 2 with barred list check contains criminal convictions, other relevant information or prescribed court orders, you may want to consider the following types of offending behaviour unsuitable for a host:

• anyone barred from carrying out a regulated role with children or protected adults under the Protection for Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act
• any offence that would result in the individual being automatically listed/barred with working with children or vulnerable adults or considered for listing (links to the relevant offences at the bottom of this page)
• anyone subject to sex offender notification requirements
• anyone subject to prescribed court orders in relation to: sex offender notification requirements, sexual harm prevention order, interim sexual harm prevention order, sexual offences prevention order, interim sexual offences prevention order, foreign travel order, sexual risk order, interim sexual risk order, risk of sexual harm order, interim risk of sexual harm order
• anyone ever convicted of the following offences, or other relevant information is provided relating to conduct of this nature: sexual offences, violent offences (more than simple assault), any offence involving stalking and harassment, any offence with a domestic abuse aggravator, any offence involving human trafficking and exploitation, any offence involving prostitution (sections 7, 11 or 12 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, any offence involving serious organised crime, any offence involving vulnerable persons, any offence that was committed against a child, any offence which indicates that it included a sexual element

For further information on the assessment process for disclosure checks see the section above: Assessing disclosure information.

For further guidance see:

• Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 (Automatic Listing) (Specified Criteria) Order 2010
• Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007