Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to streamline Disclosure and Barring Service checks; and what consideration she has given to the use of volunteers in this service.

Karen Bradley

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is undertaking a transformation programme to reform the way it delivers its services. Release 1 (R1) will improve efficiency with modernised IT solutions and business processes, making it more convenient and quicker for customers. This does not include using volunteers to operate the disclosure process, given the highly sensitive nature of the information involved.

For applications received from individuals with a Dorset postcode between December 2014 and November 2015, the average processing time was 23.4 days. It is not possible to calculate the average figure for those from East Dorset specifically as this information is not collected.