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Leeds Liberal DemocratsLiberal Democrat Group on Leeds City Council |
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Delays in Crime Checks Hitting Council Services
June 6, 2003 12:00 AM
The inability of the Criminal Records Bureau to carry out criminal record checks within a reasonable period of time is hitting services and leaving vulnerable people at risk from unvetted staff.
Councillor Jonathan Brown, (Lib Dem, Social Services Spokesperson) said, "In Leeds, one example is that of a Youth Development Officer who has been told that it will be at least another 2-3 weeks before the check will be completed has recently been brought to my attention. Another example within Social Services is of a person who has been waiting two months for a police check. These are just two examples within the Council and the problems could also extend to the teaching profession".
Nationally, Liberal Democrats have found that the Criminal Record Bureau is failing to hit 7 out of 8 key targets. These figures were given in answers to Parliamentary Questions tabled by Liberal Democrat front bench spokesperson Paul Burstow MP. The figures show that out of 8 performance targets set when the contract was signed with the CRB's private sector partner Capita, 7 were missed by huge margins.
"It is unacceptable that jobs are being filled, but can't be taken up because of these delays, and means that services are not being provided" added Cllr Brown.