7 out of 8 Criminal Records Bureau targets missed by massive margins

Liberal Democrat front bench spokesman Paul Burstow MP has uncovered new figures for the Criminal Records Bureau which shows the organisation failing to hit 7 out of 8 key targets.

The figures were unearthed by Parliamentary Questions by Mr Burstow and show that out of 8 performance targets set for the CRBs private sector partner, Capita, 7 were missed by huge margins. The collapse of the CRB has left hundreds of thousands of professionals and volunteers waiting for checks, and millions of vulnerable children and adults at risk from unvetted staff.

The missed targets include:-

• A TARGET of 95% of standard CRB checks to be completed in one week. In practice this was achieved in just 19.4% of cases.
• A TARGET of 90% of all enhanced CRB checks to be completed in 3 weeks. In practice this was achieved in just 52.4% of cases.
• A TARGET of 98% valid applications to be achieved. In reality this was achieved in just 6.5% of cases

Paul Burstow MP said:-

"These figures reveal for the first time the true scale of the chaos that is engulfed the Criminal Records Bureau. Poor planning and bad decision making throughout this project have undermined the credibility of the CRB and Capita. Incompetence on this scale demands that those responsible are held to account.

"The only target the CRB hit was for checks over the phone. The paper based application system which most people was unable to cope from day one. The missed targets demonstrate that the Criminal Records Bureau is a hastily introduced, under resourced bureaucratic nightmare, drowning in paper because of incompet ministerial blunderings. It is time the officials responsible stepped down.

"The Home Office must act urgently to revise the CRBs demand forecasts, financial estimates and business plan. A clear timetable must be set for introducing checks on those who work with vulnerable adults."

ENDS

Notes to editors

Standard Disclosures issued within one week Enhanced Disclosures issued within three weeks New Registrations (A2) Registration Changes (A3) Invalid Applications (B1) Telephone Applications (B3) Valid Application for Standards (B4) Valid Application for Enhanced (B5)

Actual 19.40% 52.40% 39.00% 8.70% 6.50% 99.30% 8.00% 18.00%

Target 95.00% 90.00% 95.00% 98.00% 98.00% 99.00% 98.00% 98.00%

Target Missed by 75.60% 37.60% 56% 89.30% 91.50% - 90.00% 80.00%

Registration Services Elapsed Time Service

Levels Service Element Service Measure

(A2) New registration Percentage of instances performed within five days elapsed time

(A3) registration changes (including additional or replacement counter-signatory) Percentage of instances performed within three days

Certificate Services Elapsed Time

Service Levels

Service Element Service Measure

(B1) Invalid application for Basic Disclosure or Standard and Enhanced Disclosures Percentage of instances performed within two days elapsed time

(B3) Telephone Application for Standard or Enhanced Disclosures: up to issue of application form for signature and counter-signature Percentage of instances performed within one day elapsed time

(B4) Valid application for Standard Disclosure: up to despatch of certificate Percentage of instances performed within three days elapsed time

(B5) Valid application for Enhanced Disclosure: up to despatch of Certificate Percentage of instances performed within four days elapsed time

Taken from PQ 112033 answered Monday 2nd June 2003

In April 2003, Paul Burstow published the report The report Counting the Costs - the Facts behind the Criminal Records Bureau today and includes a brief history of the CRB, questions that must be asked and the following recommendations:-

Recommendations

• The Carter Report must be published in full
• The repercussions for voluntary organisations must be investigated. This should identify the i) financial, ii) human resource and iii) insurance liability implications following the delays in checks and the proposed recommendations in the Carter summary.
• The value for money to the taxpayer must be independently assessed.
• A timetable must be set and published for when basic disclosures will be available to the public and when postponed checks will commence.
• There must be full disclosure of all of the costs incurred in and arising from (i) negotiating the original contract and (ii) renegotiating contract.
• The computer systems employed by the CRB must receive a full IT upgrade and improved 'system releases' to provide full details of the breakdown of the numbers of each profession applying for CRB checks. The cost of this change should be borne by Capita. This should include a priority system should be introduced to protect against shortages of staffing levels in specific professions and provide an ability to see where the majority of staff are requiring CRB checks are coming from. A timetable must be announced to the House of Commons.
• Full consultation with all organisations affected must occur with the results of the consultation published in full.
• As a goodwill gesture - CRB checks for childcare agencies which were free in 2002/3 should continue to be free in 2003/4.
• Ministers should report every six months to Parliament the state of the Criminal Records Bureau to increase transparency and increase trust in the system.
• The Home Office must evaluate whether improvements are needed to improve the quality and reliability of data supplied by the Police National Computer.