Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services (VSDS) is currently receiving a high volume of online Protection for Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Applications, and is therefore working with a longer process period than normal.

They have expressed their apologies to anyone who has experienced delays in their application processed, and that they are working to get back up to date as quickly as possible. They have also released their “working on” dates, which are updated weekly via their website – this week, they are working on applications from Tuesday 5^th July – Wednesday 6^th July.

To help reduce delays, VSDS has also provided the following tips, which applicants can use to ensure their application is process as quickly and efficiently as possible:

Download the Guidance Pack: applicants should ensure they review and follow the Guidance Pack (linked for your convenience) for the online process. All the information needed for the process is outlined in detail and will help limit any errors or mistakes that might be made before VSDS receive the forms.
Live Links: applicants will receive an email from Disclosure Scotland via disclosurescotland@notifications.service.gov.scot with their application link. These emails may go to spam or junk folders, so applicants should make sure they regularly check these folders.
- They will be informed in the email that they have 7 days (upon receiving the link) to complete their application. They will receive a reminder from the same email address on day 5. 
- Important Note: It is extremely beneficial to the process that applicants complete the link within the 7 days. By doing so, it reduces the amount of expired links triggered, therefore giving VSDS fewer applications to process (or re-process) and reducing the amount of applications in their work queue.
Expired Links: if the applicant does not complete the online form via the link within the 7 days, they must follow the Expired Link process detailed in Stage 2 of the Guidance Pack.

For further information, please visit the VSDS website, or for any additional queries relating to the online process, contact the VSDS team by online form, by phone: 01786 849777, or email: disclosures@volunteerscotland.org.uk