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1725904

registered interest
date	30/08/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken for DBS checks to be carried out for employers in England.
tabling member constituency	North Shropshire
tabling member printed	Helen Morgan
uin	3276
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2024 answer text <p><em>The DBS measures its progress using a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets agreed by its Board. The KPIs are grouped into four themes: quality, timeliness, value for money, and people. There is a strong focus on the quality and timeliness of its products and services as these are the issues that customers tell DBS are important to them and it is these that ensure the DBS supports the safeguarding of vulnerable groups including children, as effectively as possible. The 2024/25 DBS Business Plan can be viewed at: </em><em>DBS business plan: 2024-25 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em>The most recent quarterly datasets showing statistics against internal performance standards can be viewed at: </em><em>DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The data applies to DBS checks, the Update Service, and disputes. </em></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Birmingham Yardley answering member printed Jess Phillips question first answered 09/09/2024 16:16:12 answering member 4370 label Biography information for Jess Phillips
tabling member	4934 label Biography information for Helen Morgan

1725905

registered interest
date	30/08/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the (a) average and (b) target time taken for a DBS check to be completed in England.
tabling member constituency	North Shropshire
tabling member printed	Helen Morgan
uin	3277
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2024 answer text <p>The Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) target is to issue 85% of Basic checks within 2 days, 85% of Standard checks within 3 days, and 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days.</p><p>DBS publishes its performance data every quarter. The most recent data for April to June 2024 records the following performance for all applications processed within England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man:</p><p>Basic check target attained with an average of 88.1%. The 85% target was met on day 2 and the average turnaround time was 0.7 days.</p><p>Standard check target attained with an average of 88.2%. The 85% target was met on day 3 and the average turnaround time was 1.4 days.</p><p>Enhanced check target not attained with an average of 75.1%. The 80% target was met on day 21 and the average turnaround time was 12.4 days.</p> answering member constituency Birmingham Yardley answering member printed Jess Phillips question first answered 09/09/2024 15:31:07 answering member 4370 label Biography information for Jess Phillips
tabling member	4934 label Biography information for Helen Morgan

1694975

registered interest
date	11/03/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Fifty-Third Report of Session 2022–23 of the Committee of Public Accounts entitled Performance of the UK Security Vetting service, HC 994, published on 12 May 2023, what steps his Department has taken to reduce delays in processing (a) Counter Terrorist Checks, (b) Security Checks and (c) Developed Vetting since the publication of that report.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	17938
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2024 answer text <p>The National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the performance of UK Security Vetting published in January 2023 and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee in February 2023 identified that United Kingdom Security Vetting’s (UKSV) performance was affected by a range of issues including rising customer demand. The demand increased as the employment landscape grew following national lockdowns. Societal pressures and wider events (including conflict in Ukraine) also added to the demand impact.</p><p>In 2023, UKSV implemented a stabilisation programme which included an increase in headcount. Under Ministerial direction, UKSV prioritised the recovery of initial Developed Vetting turnaround times, followed by Security Check and Counter Terrorist Check turnaround times. These first two targets were met on time and are now being processed within agreed timescales with a focus on supporting recruitment. UKSV is currently focussing efforts to maintain the performance of these and is making good progress to meet the third target to recover the turnaround times of Developed Vetting review cases.</p><p>Departments and relevant Ministers receive regular updates on UKSV’s performance through governance boards and from the UKSV Customer Management Team. Sponsored individuals undergoing a clearance application are able to obtain updates relevant to their own application from the UKSV helpdesk.</p><p>The security of our people, assets and information is a Government priority. UKSV are working with departments to better forecast demand and working on both efficiency and technology solutions to maintain long term stability. Furthermore, there is a clear and robust policy in place to support departments in ensuring their employees and contractors are security cleared to the appropriate level based on the information they need to access for their role.</p><p>Though often concurrent, National Security Vetting (NSV) is distinct from recruitment processes and only required in some roles.</p><p>In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 17939 17940 17941 17942 question first answered 19/03/2024 14:59:37 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1694976

registered interest
date	11/03/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the factors contributing to the average waiting time for Developed Vetting clearances; and what steps his Department is taking to help tackle these factors.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	17939
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2024 answer text <p>The National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the performance of UK Security Vetting published in January 2023 and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee in February 2023 identified that United Kingdom Security Vetting’s (UKSV) performance was affected by a range of issues including rising customer demand. The demand increased as the employment landscape grew following national lockdowns. Societal pressures and wider events (including conflict in Ukraine) also added to the demand impact.</p><p>In 2023, UKSV implemented a stabilisation programme which included an increase in headcount. Under Ministerial direction, UKSV prioritised the recovery of initial Developed Vetting turnaround times, followed by Security Check and Counter Terrorist Check turnaround times. These first two targets were met on time and are now being processed within agreed timescales with a focus on supporting recruitment. UKSV is currently focussing efforts to maintain the performance of these and is making good progress to meet the third target to recover the turnaround times of Developed Vetting review cases.</p><p>Departments and relevant Ministers receive regular updates on UKSV’s performance through governance boards and from the UKSV Customer Management Team. Sponsored individuals undergoing a clearance application are able to obtain updates relevant to their own application from the UKSV helpdesk.</p><p>The security of our people, assets and information is a Government priority. UKSV are working with departments to better forecast demand and working on both efficiency and technology solutions to maintain long term stability. Furthermore, there is a clear and robust policy in place to support departments in ensuring their employees and contractors are security cleared to the appropriate level based on the information they need to access for their role.</p><p>Though often concurrent, National Security Vetting (NSV) is distinct from recruitment processes and only required in some roles.</p><p>In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 17938 17940 17941 17942 question first answered 19/03/2024 14:59:37 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1694977

registered interest
date	11/03/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how delays in Developed Vetting clearances are communicated to (a) people and (b) Departments affected; and what steps his Department is taking to help manage the operational impact of such delays.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	17940
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2024 answer text <p>The National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the performance of UK Security Vetting published in January 2023 and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee in February 2023 identified that United Kingdom Security Vetting’s (UKSV) performance was affected by a range of issues including rising customer demand. The demand increased as the employment landscape grew following national lockdowns. Societal pressures and wider events (including conflict in Ukraine) also added to the demand impact.</p><p>In 2023, UKSV implemented a stabilisation programme which included an increase in headcount. Under Ministerial direction, UKSV prioritised the recovery of initial Developed Vetting turnaround times, followed by Security Check and Counter Terrorist Check turnaround times. These first two targets were met on time and are now being processed within agreed timescales with a focus on supporting recruitment. UKSV is currently focussing efforts to maintain the performance of these and is making good progress to meet the third target to recover the turnaround times of Developed Vetting review cases.</p><p>Departments and relevant Ministers receive regular updates on UKSV’s performance through governance boards and from the UKSV Customer Management Team. Sponsored individuals undergoing a clearance application are able to obtain updates relevant to their own application from the UKSV helpdesk.</p><p>The security of our people, assets and information is a Government priority. UKSV are working with departments to better forecast demand and working on both efficiency and technology solutions to maintain long term stability. Furthermore, there is a clear and robust policy in place to support departments in ensuring their employees and contractors are security cleared to the appropriate level based on the information they need to access for their role.</p><p>Though often concurrent, National Security Vetting (NSV) is distinct from recruitment processes and only required in some roles.</p><p>In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 17938 17939 17941 17942 question first answered 19/03/2024 14:59:37 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1694978

registered interest
date	11/03/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Developed Vetting clearance times on the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of (i) civil service personnel in roles requiring high-level security clearance and (ii) other civil service personnel.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	17941
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2024 answer text <p>The National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the performance of UK Security Vetting published in January 2023 and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee in February 2023 identified that United Kingdom Security Vetting’s (UKSV) performance was affected by a range of issues including rising customer demand. The demand increased as the employment landscape grew following national lockdowns. Societal pressures and wider events (including conflict in Ukraine) also added to the demand impact.</p><p>In 2023, UKSV implemented a stabilisation programme which included an increase in headcount. Under Ministerial direction, UKSV prioritised the recovery of initial Developed Vetting turnaround times, followed by Security Check and Counter Terrorist Check turnaround times. These first two targets were met on time and are now being processed within agreed timescales with a focus on supporting recruitment. UKSV is currently focussing efforts to maintain the performance of these and is making good progress to meet the third target to recover the turnaround times of Developed Vetting review cases.</p><p>Departments and relevant Ministers receive regular updates on UKSV’s performance through governance boards and from the UKSV Customer Management Team. Sponsored individuals undergoing a clearance application are able to obtain updates relevant to their own application from the UKSV helpdesk.</p><p>The security of our people, assets and information is a Government priority. UKSV are working with departments to better forecast demand and working on both efficiency and technology solutions to maintain long term stability. Furthermore, there is a clear and robust policy in place to support departments in ensuring their employees and contractors are security cleared to the appropriate level based on the information they need to access for their role.</p><p>Though often concurrent, National Security Vetting (NSV) is distinct from recruitment processes and only required in some roles.</p><p>In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 17938 17939 17940 17942 question first answered 19/03/2024 14:59:37 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1694979

registered interest
date	11/03/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to support departments to manage (a) workforce planning and (b) recruitment processes affected by the time taken to complete Developed Vetting clearances.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	17942
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2024 answer text <p>The National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the performance of UK Security Vetting published in January 2023 and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee in February 2023 identified that United Kingdom Security Vetting’s (UKSV) performance was affected by a range of issues including rising customer demand. The demand increased as the employment landscape grew following national lockdowns. Societal pressures and wider events (including conflict in Ukraine) also added to the demand impact.</p><p>In 2023, UKSV implemented a stabilisation programme which included an increase in headcount. Under Ministerial direction, UKSV prioritised the recovery of initial Developed Vetting turnaround times, followed by Security Check and Counter Terrorist Check turnaround times. These first two targets were met on time and are now being processed within agreed timescales with a focus on supporting recruitment. UKSV is currently focussing efforts to maintain the performance of these and is making good progress to meet the third target to recover the turnaround times of Developed Vetting review cases.</p><p>Departments and relevant Ministers receive regular updates on UKSV’s performance through governance boards and from the UKSV Customer Management Team. Sponsored individuals undergoing a clearance application are able to obtain updates relevant to their own application from the UKSV helpdesk.</p><p>The security of our people, assets and information is a Government priority. UKSV are working with departments to better forecast demand and working on both efficiency and technology solutions to maintain long term stability. Furthermore, there is a clear and robust policy in place to support departments in ensuring their employees and contractors are security cleared to the appropriate level based on the information they need to access for their role.</p><p>Though often concurrent, National Security Vetting (NSV) is distinct from recruitment processes and only required in some roles.</p><p>In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 17938 17939 17940 17941 question first answered 19/03/2024 14:59:37 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1692886

registered interest
date	29/02/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are currently awaiting security vetting by United Kingdom Security Vetting.
tabling member printed	Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
uin	HL2868
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2024 answer text <p>As Minister for State at the Cabinet Office I am able to provide a response in relation to National Security Vetting (NSV). UKSV acts as the service provider for NSV across His Majesty’s Government (HMG). NSV remains a separate and distinct process to recruitment and onboarding processes and provides an additional personnel assurance within both public and private sector for roles and projects that require access to the sensitive assets and Protectively Marked Materials (PMM).</p><p>The government does not comment on the workings of the NSV process at the strategic or tactical level for security reasons and thereby details of numbers awaiting NSV cannot be shared. However the following information may be useful.</p><p>The Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) is not a level of NSV, nor conducted by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV); it is a separate pre-employment check conducted locally by recruiting departments. As this is a localised departmental element, no central record of data for BPSS is held within HMG at this time.</p><p>Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). Across core services:</p><ul><li><p>Accreditation Checks (AC), a level of NSV, primarily used by the aviation industry, are being completed in five days or less.</p></li><li><p>The KPIs for both CTC and SC are 25 days, on 29th February 2024 96% of cases were being processed within that time frame.</p></li><li><p>The KPI for DV is 95 days; on 29th February 2024 93.48% of initial DV cases were being processed within that time frame.The Performance Indicator for DV Renewals is also 95 days; on 29th February 2024 13.78% of these cases were being processed within that time frame. However we expect that DV renewals submitted from 1st April 2024 will be delivered within the KPI of 95 days.</p></li></ul><p>The requirements for security cleared roles across HMG vary and are set by individual department and partner agencies dependent on duties and level of access to Protectively Marked Materials (PMM). It is, therefore, not possible to provide confirmation of the performance of NSV in relation to specific roles. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including average actual processing times.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe grouped question UIN HL2869 HL2870 question first answered 18/03/2024 16:51:42 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	4508 label Biography information for Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent

1692888

registered interest
date	29/02/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average wait time for each of the eight levels of security vetting by United Kingdom Security Vetting, from 'Baseline Personnel Security Standard' to 'Enhanced Developed Vetting'.
tabling member printed	Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
uin	HL2870
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2024 answer text <p>As Minister for State at the Cabinet Office I am able to provide a response in relation to National Security Vetting (NSV). UKSV acts as the service provider for NSV across His Majesty’s Government (HMG). NSV remains a separate and distinct process to recruitment and onboarding processes and provides an additional personnel assurance within both public and private sector for roles and projects that require access to the sensitive assets and Protectively Marked Materials (PMM).</p><p>The government does not comment on the workings of the NSV process at the strategic or tactical level for security reasons and thereby details of numbers awaiting NSV cannot be shared. However the following information may be useful.</p><p>The Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) is not a level of NSV, nor conducted by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV); it is a separate pre-employment check conducted locally by recruiting departments. As this is a localised departmental element, no central record of data for BPSS is held within HMG at this time.</p><p>Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). Across core services:</p><ul><li><p>Accreditation Checks (AC), a level of NSV, primarily used by the aviation industry, are being completed in five days or less.</p></li><li><p>The KPIs for both CTC and SC are 25 days, on 29th February 2024 96% of cases were being processed within that time frame.</p></li><li><p>The KPI for DV is 95 days; on 29th February 2024 93.48% of initial DV cases were being processed within that time frame.The Performance Indicator for DV Renewals is also 95 days; on 29th February 2024 13.78% of these cases were being processed within that time frame. However we expect that DV renewals submitted from 1st April 2024 will be delivered within the KPI of 95 days.</p></li></ul><p>The requirements for security cleared roles across HMG vary and are set by individual department and partner agencies dependent on duties and level of access to Protectively Marked Materials (PMM). It is, therefore, not possible to provide confirmation of the performance of NSV in relation to specific roles. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including average actual processing times.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe grouped question UIN HL2868 HL2869 question first answered 18/03/2024 16:51:42 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	4508 label Biography information for Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent

1677906

registered interest
date	13/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the backlog is for enhanced DBS checks by police area.
tabling member constituency	Worthing West
tabling member printed	Sir Peter Bottomley
uin	6698
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) operates to service standards of completing 80% of Enhanced check applications within 14 days. These service standards can be seen in quarterly performance reporting which the DBS publishes at: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistics%2Fdbs-dataset-1-disclosure-progress-information-disclosed-and-update-service-subscriptions&amp;data=05%7C02%7CNicholasDerek.Brown8%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C134a0a8f0c334ae16cbf08dbfca4ff1c%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638381557837424282%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=i1T5qnXUsYG456%2BXa9Y6P7YGxCItCOnK7G5%2BZWKyeN8%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p>The latest published statistics are for September 2023 which show that the DBS is completing 78.1% of Enhanced check applications within 14 days. The DBS does not publish data by police area.</p><p>An Enhanced check requires the DBS to send applications to the police for local data searches and local intelligence checks. Currently some police forces’ turnaround times have been affected by increased volumes of disclosure applications against original forecasts.</p><p>Police forces are recruiting more staff to service the additional demand for Enhanced DBS checks The DBS is working collaboratively with policing partners to enhance the quality of an enhanced criminal record check referral to improve turnaround times and continues to modernise its services through the replacement of legacy systems and further digitisation of disclosure products.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 21/12/2023 14:25:26 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	117 label Biography information for Sir Peter Bottomley