DBS & vetting process: Driver and/or Passenger Assistant OCC Transport Badge

Obtaining an OCC Transport badge and Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check.

Oxfordshire County Council charges for both DBS Appointments and Safeguard and Disability Awareness Training bookings.

The following charges have been agreed by the council:

  • DBS appointments - £76 per DBS appointment
  • Re-booked DBS appointments - If an applicant fails to arrive for their DBS appointment or comes with the incorrect identification documents which means the appointment cannot proceed, the applicant will be required to pay £27.50 before they are able to re-book a subsequent DBS appointment.
  • Safeguard & Disability Awareness Training - £55 per training booking
  • Re-booked training: If an applicant fails to arrive for Safeguard and Disability Awareness Training, another booking will have to be made costing a further £55
  • DBS Appointments and Safeguard & Disability Training - £131 for both

All payments will be made via a secure online payment facility. Confirmed bookings for either DBS appointments or training will not be made unless the correct payment has been made.

If you work for an approved Oxfordshire County Council provider or are a manager/owner of a company providing transport, the following guides tell you how to obtain badges for drivers and passenger assistants to work on our transport contracts.

Before you start

Please read the following guides before making an application or contacting us.

Please ensure you and your applicants read these guides fully to answer any queries you may have on the application process and the DBS appointments.

It is vital that all applicants attending a DBS appointment read and understand the Identity Guidance document above before their appointment as failure to bring all the current, required documentation will result in them being turned aware from their appointment. If this happens, they will need to re-book a subsequent DBS appointment which will incur an additional charge.

Application forms

Email any applications or requests to transport.safeguarding@oxfordshire.gov.uk. New suitability checks are being made for new or replacement DBS badge applications.

Applications

Replacement and additional badge requests

  • Replacement and additional badge request form (doc format, 29KB) 
    For applicants looking to replace a lost/damaged OCC transport badge, Applicants applying for an OCC transport badge for a different service provider, and for applicants applying for an additional OCC Transport badge as they work for multiple county council approved providers.

Safeguarding and Disability Awareness Training guidance

Safeguarding Disability Awareness Training Manual (pdf format, 517Kb) – This guide contains all information taught to applicants during their safeguarding and Disability Awareness training session. This includes details and key contacts on how to report a safeguarding alert, and how to contact the relevant department of the transport hub.

Please see the training website Safeguarding and disability awareness training for drivers of vulnerable passengers for more details

Charges for DBS Appointments and Safeguard & Disability Awareness Training

How we request payment

We will request payment for DBS appointments and Safeguard & Disability Awareness training by email after we have received a valid badging application. You need to make the payment before we can confirm your booking for either requirement.

If you submitted a badging application but have not received an initiation email with a payment request from us within five working days, please email transport.safeguarding@oxfordshire.gov.uk

You will not be allowed to attend an appointment or training course until you have made the payment.

DBS Update Service users

If you have signed up for the DBS Update Service on the GOV.UK website, you do not pay us for the DBS Appointment at the point of renewal. You will pay the £13 renewal fee via that service.

Each time your badge is due for renewal, you must still book and pay for Safeguarding and Disability Awareness training through us. You will be emailed details of how to make payment once your Update Service Application has been processed.

Please be aware that to successfully apply via the DBS Update Service, the applicant’s DBS certificate must be in the applicant’s correct name, of the correct level and workforce (Enhanced DBS check, Child and Adult Workforce with Child and Adult Barred lists checked), be confirmed to be current following an update check and be currently subscribed to the service. Failure to meet any of these requirements will mean the applicant is unable to apply via this route.

Making payments for initial DBS appointments and Safeguarding & Disability Awareness training

You will make the payment online. To pay online for Safeguarding & Disability Awareness training or a DBS appointment, you will need:

  • the initiation/payment request email containing your reference number
  • your payment card
  • the full name and date of birth of the person attending the course or appointment.

Paying for an additional DBS appointment

If you missed your appointment, arrived late or arrived with the wrong documents, you need to book and pay for an additional DBS appointment. 

The cost of an additional DBS appointment is £27.50

You will make the payment online. To pay online for an additional DBS appointment, you will need:

  • the initiation/payment request email containing your reference number
  • your payment card
  • the full name and date of birth of the person attending the course or appointment.

Joint Operating Framework (JOF) for the Transportation of Children and Adults with Care and Support Needs and Taxi Licensing in Oxfordshire

The JOF (pdf format, 723Kb) provides a single set of minimum standards for agencies with responsibilities for transporting children and adults with care and support needs in Oxfordshire, including addressing vetting, training, awareness-raising, information sharing, policy alignment, enforcement activity, and quality assurance and monitoring.

Terms and conditions

The following terms and conditions apply to those seeking to complete a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check via a DBS appointment facilitated by OCC as part of their application for an Oxfordshire County Council Transport Badge.

DBS appointment content

  1. The appointment will involve the following steps:
    • Production of required Identification Documents by applicant; these will be checked and scanned by OCC Staff member.
    • Completion of online DBS application by applicant on OCC laptop.
    • Photograph of Applicant taken.
  2. Applicants are given a thirty-minute time slot per appointment to fully complete all the above steps of the DBS Appointment.
  3. Attendees must read and understand the Identity Guidance Document prior to attending the appointment to ensure they bring all the requirement documentation with them. Failure to do so, will result in them being turned away from the appointment.

Bookings

  1. A DBS appointment will only be offered following receipt of a valid badging application form and successful payment.
  2. On receipt of the badging application form and payment, applicants will be contacted by the DBS & Vetting team to inform them of when an appointment is available for them to attend. Bookings will be confirmed by email. Applicants must not attend an appointment unless they have received email confirmation of the booking.
  3. Please refrain from contacting the team to chase for an appointment unless they have been in touch with you to offer an available date and time.

Attendance at DBS appointment

  1. The applicant must attend the DBS appointment specified within the booking confirmation email they receive.
  2. An attendee must arrive with all the required documents to be able to proceed with the DBS appointment.
  3. An attendee will be turned away from the appointment if they are unable to produce valid, current and original copies of all the required documentation, as per the Identity Guidance document circulated with their booking confirmation and available on the DBS & Vetting website: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/schools/travelling-school/information-travel-providers/dbs-and-vetting-process
  4. Attendees not booked in for a DBS Appointment with a booking confirmation will be turned away and unable to attend.
  5. Applicants must arrive on time to their booked appointment. Attendees who arrive more than five minutes later than the confirmed start time of their confirmed booking will be unable to complete their appointment and turned away.

Incomplete appointments

  1. Any applicant who does not provide the correct quantities and types of the required documentation will be unable to complete the appointment and will need to re-book a subsequent DBS appointment.
  2. Any applicant who is unable to complete the online DBS application form within their thirty-minute appointment slot will be asked to leave the appointment without completing it and will need to re-book a subsequent DBS appointment.

Level of charges

  1. The current charge for a single DBS Appointment booking is £76; from 01/04/2021 onwards, this charge must be paid upfront via the online payment system. A DBS appointment will not be offered and confirmed before a valid payment has been made.
  2. The current charge for re-booking a subsequent DBS Appointment is £27.50; from 01/04/2021 onwards, this charge must be paid upfront via the online payment system. A subsequent DBS appointment will not be offered and confirmed before a valid payment has been made.
  3. These charges are subject to change. Oxfordshire County Council will advertise any future changes to the current charges for DBS Appointments with a minimum of four weeks’ notice.

Non-attendance

  1. Applicants will not be admitted to a DBS Appointment if they do not arrive at the allocated council office within five minutes of the confirmed date and start time of the appointment.
  2. Any applicant who does not attend the DBS Appointment within five minutes of the confirmed date and start time of the appointment will be considered as having not attended and no refund will be provided.

Cancellations

  1. Cancellations must be emailed a minimum of two working days before the confirmed date and time of the DBS Appointment to dbsbookings@oxfordshire.gov.uk
  2. For cancellations made two working days or more before the confirmed date and time of the DBS Appointment session, the DBS & Vetting team will offer an alternative DBS Appointment date before a refund is considered.
  3. Cancellations made less than two working days prior to the start date and time of the confirmed DBS appointment booking will be considered as a late cancellation and the booking will be cancelled and no refund provided.

Refunds

  1. Refunds will not be offered for late cancellations, non-attendance, or late arrivals.
  2. Refunds will not be offered if an applicant fails to complete a DBS appointment and is turned away because they have not brought all the correct documentation with them to their appointment as detailed within the Identity Guidance document.
  3. Refunds will not be offered if an applicant fails to complete the online DBS application form within the thirty-minute allocated booking slot.
  4. If you wish to appeal a charge, you must provide written details of why you wish to appeal the charge to dbsbookings@oxfordshire.gov.uk within twenty-eight days of the payment.
  5. These appeals will be either approved or not by the Management within the Oxfordshire County Council Supported Transport Service and you will be informed of the decision once it has been made via email. We will, in exceptional circumstances, waive the charge for cancellations if provided with a valid reason.