(2) how many people are awaiting the completion of their criminal records check prior to working with children and vulnerable adults; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what the average time taken was for the Criminal Records Bureau to process a criminal records check for people working with children and vulnerable adults in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
Data concerning the average waiting time taken to complete a disclosure are not a performance target and are not collated by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The CRB operates to a set of published service standards (PSS) which include to issue 93 per cent. of standard disclosures within 10 days and 90 per cent. of enhanced disclosures within 28 days. For January 2007, the CRB issued 99.2 per cent. of standard disclosures and 90.8 per cent. of enhanced disclosures within PSS.
Within these overarching performance standards, there are a number of targets that are the responsibility of the CRB that the Bureau has been meeting consistently.
There are a number of other factors that can affect the timely completion of checks by the CRB, including but not restricted to the length of time it can take for an employer to deal with the initial application, the accurate completion of the application form, the clarity of the information provided, the existence of conviction or non-conviction information and the operational effectiveness of the disclosure units of the police forces involved in the enhanced disclosure process.
In order to address these, the CRB has provided more support to all counter-signatories and customers in the form of detailed guidance notes which accompany the application forms to ensure that applications are completed accurately and are accompanied by all relevant supporting documentation. The CRB has also established a rigorous compliance and assurance function to ensure that registered bodies make the best use of the disclosure service.
There have been fluctuations in the performance of some of the police disclosure units, caused by a combination of factors including a significant increase in disclosure applications and a combination of local staffing and IT problems.
However, the police and the CRB have been working closely together to identify ways of tackling these problems in forces, which have included additional resources for disclosure unit managers and a greater degree of monitoring performance and support. These initiatives have been strengthened by a new service level agreement in April 2006 between the CRB and all the 43 forces in England and Wales, which focuses on service delivery. These measures have led to a substantial improvement in the overall disclosure process in recent months.
The CRB has issued approximately 285,000 applications each month in the last six months and as at 23 March 2007 162,826 applications are in progress.