Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time is for enhanced DBS checks in the care sector in each of the last twelve months; and what steps the Government is taking to reduce the time taken in the police checking stage of DBS applications.

The DBS does not report its performance by specific job sectors. The DBS publishes its performance for Enhanced checks on a quarterly basis at DBS performance and metrics - GOV.UK. These attainments apply to applications across all employment sectors including the care sector.

The DBS works closely with all police forces to ensure checks are completed as quickly as possible. This includes funding additional staff and overtime within forces. Where possible, police forces with capacity are also helping those with a large number of outstanding cases, a process managed by the DBS.