DBS video on legal duty to refer for faith groups

If you help run a church, mosque, gurdwara, synagogue or temple, people may turn to you when something doesn’t feel right. On 2 December 2025, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) released a short ‘In Conversation’ video to walk through the legal duty to refer in clear, everyday language. The episode features DBS South East Regional Outreach Adviser Kelly Matthews speaking with Louise Whitehead, Head of Safeguarding at the Diocese of Oxford, as part of a wider faith safeguarding push.

Let’s reset the basics together. The legal duty to refer means that organisations providing regulated activity with children or adults must tell DBS if they remove someone from that activity because they’ve harmed, or could harm, a child or an adult at risk. Personnel suppliers have the same obligation. This applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. What this means: if you oversee volunteers or staff in those settings, the duty is not optional-it’s a legal requirement set out in DBS guidance on GOV.UK.

In practice, you’re looking for two things. First, you have withdrawn permission for the person to do regulated activity, or you’ve moved them to work that is not regulated activity. Second, you believe either that ‘relevant conduct’ has harmed or put someone at risk, or that the ‘harm test’ is met even without a proven incident. DBS’s Making barring referrals guidance explains these conditions and who is allowed to refer.

Data protection worries often stall good decisions. DBS is clear that when the legal duty to refer applies, sharing the prescribed information with DBS is lawful under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act because the disclosure is required by law. In other words, data protection should not stop a legally required referral.

If you are a parent or member of the public, you don’t make a DBS referral yourself. Report concerns to the police, your local authority safeguarding team, or the person’s employer or safeguarding lead so they can investigate and, if appropriate, refer to DBS. In an emergency, call 999. DBS sets out this route clearly in its public guidance.

The new video focuses on confidence, clarity and collaboration. Louise explains how she weighed concerns and why a quick call to a Regional Outreach Adviser helped when a case felt daunting. Kelly sets out the practical support her team offers before, during and after a referral so organisations aren’t guessing the process. It’s designed for real life, not theory.

Scenario you might recognise: you move a youth volunteer out of children’s sessions while you investigate concerns. If, after your investigation, you decide the risk threshold is met, the duty to refer still applies. That’s because the person has been removed or redeployed from regulated activity-even if they continue in another role at your place of worship.

Another common situation: a choir leader resigns when an allegation is raised. You finish your fact-finding and conclude the harm test is met. You still need to refer to DBS. The duty applies even when the individual has left, and even if time has passed between the alleged incident and the evidence you gather.

A third scenario: there is no proven incident on record, but credible information suggests the person poses a risk to adults at risk. That can still meet the harm test. A referral enables DBS to consider barring decisions that protect others beyond your own congregation or group.

Two helpful clarifications from the GOV.UK guidance. You should refer even if you’ve also informed the local authority, a professional regulator or the police-the DBS duty still stands. And if someone is only suspended pending investigation, you may not yet be at the referral stage; speak to the DBS Outreach Team for advice on timing.

Context matters. DBS says that in the past seven years, only 0.51% of referrals have come from the faith sector. That suggests some cases never reach the system. A 12-week campaign launched on 23 October 2025-starting in the South East-aims to close that gap with workshops, pop-up clinics and short explainer videos.

Your next step can be simple. Watch Faith in Safeguarding – In Conversation with Kelly Matthews and Louise Whitehead, discuss it with your trustees or leadership team, and save the DBS Regional Outreach service page so you know how to get tailored advice. If a situation feels complex, email the address listed on GOV.UK and ask for a quick steer-getting it right keeps people safe.