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<p>Performance data for the Disclosure and Barring Service for March 2016 indicates
that average processing time for DBS applications was 14.8 days. Certificates dispatched
to applicants by the DBS in March 2016 involving (a) Cleveland Police and (b) the
Metropolitan Police Service took an average of (a) 24 days and (b) 122 days.</p><p>Protecting
the public is a priority for this Government and it is important that checks undertaken
are thorough; a proportion of the applications received by the DBS must be referred
to one or more police forces as part of the enhanced disclosure process. In the vast
majority of cases these checks are completed within target. The DBS is working closely
with the small number of forces, including the MPS, whose performance does not meet
turnaround time targets. The performance of police disclosure units is an operational
issue for individual police forces and the MPS has established a Gold Group to oversee
the recovery plan which they have in place to reduce the time taken. I have made clear
to the MPS that its current delays must be addressed as a matter of priority and I
continue to maintain close oversight of the progress being made.</p>
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