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Written question asked by Jim Cunningham (Labour) on Friday, 7 November 2014, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 17 November 2014 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Monday, 17 November 2014. A substantive answer was provided by Karen Bradley (Conservative) on Wednesday, 19 November 2014 on behalf of the Home Office.

Vetting

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have made a complaint of a delay in receiving their standard Disclosure and Barring Service check in the last 12 months.

Answer

The Department has had a small number of queries from MPs regarding delays to their constituents enhanced disclosures in recent months.


The following table shows the number of standard certificates that have been delayed by more than two weeks in each month in 2014.

Month Total Despatched <14 Days > 14 Days
2014-01 19,389 18,887 502
2014-02 20,195 19,995 200
2014-03 19,740 19,512 228
2014-04 20,322 19,649 673
2014-05 21,187 20,692 495
2014-06 23,552 22,994 558
2014-07 23,275 21,795 1,480
2014-08 21,844 18,348 3,496
2014-09 25,064 22,426 2,638
2014-10 25,385 24,569 816

The average length of time taken to process a standard DBS certificate in each month of 2014 is illustrated below:

Month Average Days Taken Total Despatched
2014-01 3.22 19,389
2014-02 3.15 20,195
2014-03 5.57 19,740
2014-04 5.03 20,322
2014-05 5.22 21,187
2014-06 5.87 23,552
2014-07 6.60 23,275
2014-08 7.95 21,844
2014-09 7.56 25,064
2014-10 5.92 25,385

This is based upon the average time taken (between form received date and disclosure despatch date)

of standard disclosures despatched between 01/01/2014 and 31/10/2014.

DBS does not hold specific information relating to the number of complaints received concerning delays in processing standard certificates.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
213910
Session
2014-15
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Complaints Administrative delays Vetting
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk