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Written question asked by Greg Knight (Conservative) on Wednesday, 9 November 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 15 November 2011. It was answered by Baroness Featherstone (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 19 December 2011 on behalf of the Home Office.

Vetting: Standards

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) target time and (b) average time taken was to complete a Criminal Records Bureau check from when the completed form is received; and how many such checks have taken more than six months to complete in the last year.
Answer

[holding answer 15 November 2011]: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) aims to process 90% of all enhanced checks within 28 days of receipt of a fully completed application form and 95% of standard checks within 10 days.The following table shows the average time taken to complete both standard and enhanced CRB checks in the last 12 months and those that have taken longer than six months to complete.There are a number of factors that can affect the timely completion of CRB checks, 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 CRB checking process.Most enhanced certificates are delayed at the police local intelligence checking stage. I am aware that such delays have meant that the CRB has in the past had some problems meeting its agreed targets. However, I am pleased to confirm that there has been a significant improvement in terms of overall turnaround between the police and the CRB, following the implementation of a range of improvements.In October, the CRB issued over 95% of enhanced CRB certificates within 28 days.

Standard disclosures Enhanced disclosures
Certificates issued Average turnaround Number taking over six months Certificates issued Average turnaround Number taking over six months Percentage taking over six months
November 2010 15,814 5.2 0 372,575 24.65 1,442 0.39
December 2010 10,247 5.08 0 302,084 24.44 1,032 0.34
January 2011 12,496 4.23 0 307,286 24.36 1,054 0.34
February 2011 14,485 5.25 0 337,472 18.07 1,025 0.30
March 2011 19,372 4.99 0 361,111 15.25 911 0.25
April 2011 17,148 4.59 0 277,168 13.26 745 0.27
May 2011 21,582 3.86 0 284,977 13.15 716 0.25
June 2011 21,563 4.63 0 326,472 12.04 619 0.19
July 2011 20,947 4.71 0 328,984 11.08 329 0.10
August 2011 22,811 4.7 0 315,833 10.35 152 0.05
September 2011 20,204 4.42 0 301,085 9.54 191 0.06
October 2011 23,638 5.42 0 348,786 10.83 166 0.05
Total 220,307 4.7 0 3,863,833 15.7 8,382 0.22

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
80929; 537 c930W
Session
2010-12
Subjects
Standards Vetting
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk