Written question asked by Lord Spellar (Labour) on Monday, 16 April 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 18 April 2012. It was answered by Lord Grayling (Conservative) on Monday, 23 April 2012 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Vetting

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the effect of the time taken obtaining Criminal Records Bureau checks on individuals' ability to obtain employment.

Answer: At the request of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), officials from the Department have discussed with the Criminal Records Bureau the time taken to obtain checks but not the effect of the time taken on individuals' ability to obtain employment. Data on that are not collected. The length of time taken to complete a check varies according to each individual case and is not dependent upon an individual's employment or unemployment status.As shown in official reports, the Criminal Records Bureau has been consistently exceeding its published service standard of processing 90% of enhanced checks within 28 days for over 12 months. In the financial year 2011-12 the CRB issued 95.4% of all enhanced certificates within 28 days and 99.9% of standard certificates within 10 days. There are a number of factors that can affect the time taken to complete checks, including: 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; and the operational effectiveness of the Disclosure Units of the police forces.

Secondary information