Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) improve the performance of police forces in completing applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) provides a formal monthly performance report to the Home Office and Home Office Ministers. This includes updates on the performance of police forces in meeting the Service Level Agreement (SLA) standards for the time taken to complete local disclosure checks.

If police force performance falls below the standard agreed with the DBS, the DBS will work with the force concerned. Where appropriate, this may include implementing a recovery plan and providing additional resources to ensure that the plan is fully supported.