Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of potential impact of (a) developments in technology, (b) information sharing and (c) risk assessment on the effectiveness of the the Disclosure and Barring Service framework; and whether she plans to undertake a review of opportunities to strengthen and modernise safeguarding arrangements.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) regularly reviews its operations and procedures to ensure they remain effective.

Current priorities are outlined in the DBS’s Business Plan 2026-27 and the DBS’s 2025-28 Strategy, including specific references to the use of innovative technology, improving information sharing and risk management.

With many individual workstreams underway, there are currently no plans to undertake a separate review of opportunities to strengthen and modernise safeguarding arrangements.