DBS delays causing havoc in people's lives

Single parents, teaching assistants, taxi drivers, agency workers, and many more, are losing out on work due to delayed DBS checks.

Speaking in the House of Commons this week, I challenged the Home Office and asked what was being done to reduce delays.

I have had 20 cases in the past 12 months, including of teachers and teaching assistants unable to get their checks in time to start work. The delays are causing havoc in people's lives.

In response, Sarah Newton MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, told me she is discussing ways to speed up the process with the Met.

I will continue to press the Home Office on this issue.

You can read my question and the Home Office’s response in full below:

Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)

What steps she is taking to reduce delays in Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sarah Newton)

Protecting the public is a priority for this Government, and it is important that checks undertaken are thorough. I visited the Metropolitan Police Service last week to see the work it is undertaking to tackle the delays, and I will also visit the DBS in the near future. I will continue to maintain a close interest in disclosure turnaround times and the work of the DBS.

Meg Hillier

I welcome the hon. Lady to her position, in which she is taking on the seemingly intractable problem of making sure that the Met police deal with DBS checks in good time. I have had 20 cases in the past 12 months, including of teachers and teaching assistants unable to get their checks in time to start work. The delays are causing havoc in people's lives. I wish all power to her elbow in resolving this, but it has been going on for nearly a decade. What practical steps is she going to take?

Sarah Newton

I absolutely share the hon. Lady's frustration at the delays in the Met police, but I assure her, based on my visit last week, that the DBS has increased the resources it has made available to the police. In the past six months alone, over 100 new members of staff have been recruited. It has made improvements to the processes it is undertaking, and I am looking at weekly performance statistics. She can be assured that I am doing everything in my power to speed up the processing of this very important service.