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Cabinet Office

Answer

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time taken for civil service staff to pass security vetting procedures was in the last period for which figures are available. [204453] Mr. Miliband: I have been asked to reply. The security vetting process is managed by the employing or contracting Government Department. Details of the time taken to carry out individual clearances are not held centrally. The length of time taken to carry out a clearance is dependent on a number of factors. These include the nature and extent of the checks involved at each level of clearance: Developed vetting (DV) clearance, which is necessary for long term frequent and uncontrolled access to top secret information or assets, requires a greater breadth and depth of checks as well as an interview with the subject and referees, and generally takes longer to carry out than a security check (SC--for long term, frequent and uncontrolled access to secret information or assets) or counter-terrorist check (CTC--for access to public figures or establishments at particular risk of terrorist attack).

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

204453; 429 c283-4W;429 c284W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Civil servants Administrative delays Government departments Vetting

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk