Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Gareth Thomas (Labour) on Thursday, 10 December 2015, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 15 December 2015 (named day). It was answered by Karen Bradley (Conservative) on Tuesday, 15 December 2015 on behalf of the Home Office.

Vetting: Standards

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) what the average waiting time was for checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service to be completed and (b) how long on average the Police National Computer search took in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14, (v) 2014-15 and (vi) 2015-16 to date.

Answer

The following table shows, for each year from November 2010 to October 2015, both the average end-to-end turnaround time for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates and the average time to complete the Police National Computer (PNC) stage.

The PNC stage has been defined as the time spent in DBS between receipt of an application and – in the case of Enhanced Disclosures – its despatch to local police forces; or – in the case of Standard Disclosures – its assembly for return to the applicant. During this period, DBS conducts a search of the Police National Computer, followed by internal checks to ensure both the accuracy and quality of certificates.


Time Period

Average End to End Turnaround (days)

Average PNC Stage Turnaround (days)

Nov-10 to Oct-11

16.22

1.72

Nov-11 to Oct-12

10.85

2.25

Nov-12 to Oct-13

10.23

1.54

Nov-13 to Oct-14

13.63

2.42

Nov-14 to Oct-15

14.28

2.86


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
19688
Session
2015-16
Subjects
Standards Vetting
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk