Celebrity Booker (the Agency) is committed to working in line with the Code of Conduct now in common use across the industry. The Code of Conduct requires that all Artistes who are working on any production which involves (or could at some point involve) working with children and/or persons under the age of 18 at any stage during production, will be required to obtain a Basic Disclosure  check, to verify the Artiste’s suitability for work of this nature.

 

All Artistes, irrespective of the type of work they are looking for, will be required to obtain a Basic Disclosure. The Basic Disclosure contains details of convictions held on the Police National Computer Database that are ‘unspent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. The Basic Disclosure certificate will not be issued to the Agency directly. Instead, the certificate will be made available to the Artiste who will then be required to send a copy to the Agency (an electronic copy is sufficient). At the time of processing the Artiste’s registration, the Agency will request that the Artiste obtain a Basic Disclosure (if they haven’t already done so). The Agency may not process the registration or look for work on the Artiste’s behalf until a copy of the Basic Disclosure has been received.

 

You can apply for a Basic Disclosure at Disclosure Scotland:

https://www.mygov.scot/basic-disclosure/apply-for-basic-disclosure

 

or at Access NI:

https://accessni.nidirect.gov.uk/BasicNoRBApplication/ApplicantDetails

 

We encourage all Artistes seeking registration with the Agency to declare any unspent convictions (or other matters that might be relevant) at an early stage of the registration process. Having an unspent criminal conviction will not automatically exclude an Artiste from being offered work. Consideration will be given to the following before deciding whether the Artiste will be taken on with the Agency:

 

Under the Code of Conduct the Agency is unable to supply any Artiste who has unspent convictions for sexual offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for any production which involves (or could at some point involve) working with children and/or persons under the age of 18.

 

 

The Process

 

The Artiste will be advised at the point of registration that unspent criminal convictions and other associated information will be considered as part of the registration process and that the Artiste will need to obtain a Basic Disclosure before their registration can be fully processed.

 

Once the Artiste’s Basic Disclosure has been received, if there are any unspent convictions on the Disclosure, the Artiste will be contacted and asked to submit appropriate details and dates of any convictions in confidence to the Agency who is responsible for ensuring the security of any such sensitive information. The Artiste should also submit any other information they wish to draw attention to that may improve our understanding and assist us in fair decision-making.

 

The Artist will be informed of the Agency’s decision regarding their suitability to be taken on as soon as possible, once we have considered the information presented. However, please be aware that if the Disclosure reveals information that may make the Artiste unsuitable for registration, then it may not be possible to process the registration.

 

All Artistes are required to inform the Agency immediately if they are under investigation, prosecution or convicted of any offences. The Agency will then contact the Artiste to obtain more information before deciding whether it is appropriate to continue to offer them work. In some cases, it may be possible to continue to offer work, or it may be appropriate to withhold work until more information is obtained whilst keeping the Artiste on the books, or alternatively the Artiste may be withdrawn from Celebrity Bookers books.

 

Renewal

 

The Code of Conduct requires that basic disclosures are renewed every 18 months. Therefore, Artistes will be required to obtain a new Basic Disclosure before the 18-month expiry date and present the new certificate to the Agency.

The Artiste is responsible for paying for the cost of the new Basic Disclosure and is responsible for keeping track of when the Disclosure expires.

Any Artiste who has an expired Disclosure i.e. one that is older than 18 months from the date the certificate was issued, will not be considered for work that involves/may involve working with young people under the age of 18, until a new Basic Disclosure has been presented to the Agency. We strongly recommend that you apply for a new Basic Disclosure by 17 months after the issue date of your last certificate.

 

Storage and Retention of Information

 

All information relating to convictions will be kept strictly confidential. In the unlikely event that any hard copies are stored at the office, Disclosures and other confidential documents will be kept in a locked, secure location. The keys and access to this information will only be available to authorised individuals. Electronic copies will be kept in password protected files. We will not retain the disclosure for longer than felt necessary.

In normal circumstances, after a period of 6 months the disclosure will be destroyed by suitable, secure means. No photocopy or other image of the disclosure will be retained unless there are reasonable grounds to do so, but the Agency will keep a record of the date of a Disclosure, the name of the individual, the type of Disclosure, the unique number issued on the certificate and the decision taken.

 

Sharing of Information

 

Under the Code of Conduct, Production companies can ask to see information relating to an Artiste to ensure that they have a Basic Disclosure in place and that they are suitable for the work for which they have been/are about to be engaged. You should therefore be aware that we may share the following information with a production company if required to do so: date of the Artiste’s Disclosure, the Artiste’s name, the type of Disclosure, the unique number issued on the certificate and the decision taken. If a production company requests to view a copy of the document itself, the Agency will only disclose the document having sought and obtained full consent from the Artiste.

If you have any queries regarding this policy, please raise these with the Managing Director.