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21 Jan 2003 : Column 291W—continued
Criminal Records Bureau (Capita Contract)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has (a) made and (b) commissioned of the (i) viability and (ii) adaptability of the computer system provided under contract by Capita to support the current and future work of the Criminal Records Bureau; and if he will place a copy of the assessment in the Library. [90117]
Hilary Benn: In August 2002 French Thornton Partnership Ltd. were commissioned to conduct an independent review of the Criminal Records Bureau core systems. The review focused on the following three areas:
- integrity of the architecture and quality of build;
capacity planning and sizing models; and
future proofing and suitability of the system.
Criminal Records Checks
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been waiting for their Criminal Records Bureau applications to be processed for (a) three and (b) six weeks. [91177]
Hilary Benn: The number of applications outstanding that are over three weeks old is 191,448 and the number of applications outstanding over six weeks is 155,413.
In order to process a disclosure application the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) requires a correctly completed application form. The bureau has identified
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81,440 disclosure applications, of those outstanding over six weeks, where either the registered body and /or applicant has either incorrectly completed the application or not filled in the mandatory parts of the form. Until the CRB receives this information, it cannot complete the disclosure process.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding (a) standard and (b) enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (i) disclosure and (ii) list 99 applications there were in each of the last nine months. [91201]
Hilary Benn: The following table represents the total number of disclosure applications that have been recorded as being outstanding work in progress at the end of each month over the last nine months:
| Month | Number of outstanding disclosures |
|---|---|
| April | 40,223 |
| May | 94,873 |
| June | 148,310 |
| July | 179,347 |
| August | 192,443 |
| September | 236,433 |
| October | 258,376 |
| November | 277,462 |
| December | 251,334 |
Many of the outstanding applications at any time will be the subject of requests to applicants for registered bodies for future information—for example, out of the number shown for end of December, 98,960 were back with customers for this reason. Others will have been recently received—for example, within the December total, 59,960 had been in the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) less than three weeks and were hence not overdue.
Unfortunately, it has not been possible to provide a breakdown between the different levels of Disclosure because there are no IT procedures at present to extract this data from the CRB database. It is expected that this functionality will become available in subsequent system releases. As a general rule of thumb, 13 per cent. of all applications received are Standard.
The Criminal Records Bureau has neither received nor processed List 99 applications. There was a process initiated during summer 2002 where a manual off-line check was conducted on persons who were applying to work within the education sector. The CRB examined its systems and issued letters to employers in advance of the issue of Disclosures to individuals. This exercise was conducted to assist education authorities with their recruitment and it was completed at the end of July.
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There were no service standards involved and therefore no question of these checks being outstanding at any time.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the service level agreements that have been agreed regarding the speed of processing between his Department and Capita in respect of the Criminal Records Bureau. [91204]
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Hilary Benn: The following appropriate extracts from the Contract between Capita and the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), inclusive of necessary definitions of processing Service Levels are listed. The times allowed are for the Capita part of the process—the overall CRB service standards also allow time for the Agency and Police elements of the process leading to the overall published CRB service standards.
| Service Element | Service Measure | Service Level |
|---|---|---|
| (Ala) Registration routine enquiry (including postal correspondence) | percentage of instances performed within three days elapsed time | 99.0 |
| (Alb) Registration routine enquiry (internet) | percentage of instances performed within 1 day elapsed time | 99.0 |
| (A2) New registration | percentage of instances performed within five days elapsed time | 95.0 |
| (A3) Registration changes (including additional or replacement counter- signatory) | percentage of instances performed within three days elapsed time | 98.0 |
| Service Element | Service Measure | Service Level |
|---|---|---|
| (Bl) Invalid application for CCC or HLC. | Percentage of instances performed within two days elapsed time | 98.0 |
| (B2) Valid application for CCC: up to despatch of certificate. | Percentage of instances performed within three days elapsed time | 98.0 |
| (B3) Telephone Application for HLC: up to issue of application form for signature and counter-signature. | Percentage of instances performed within one day elapsed time | 99.0 |
| (B4) Valid application for CRC: up to despatch of certificate. | Percentage of instances Performed within three days elapsed time | 98.0 |
| (B5) Valid application for ECRC: up to despatch of Certificate. | Percentage of instances performed within four days elapsed time | 98.0 |
| (B6a) Certificate enquiries: postal; fax | Percentage of instances performed within three days elapsed time | 99.0 |
| (B6b) Certificate enquiries: internet | Percentage of instances performed within one day elapsed time | 99.0 |
| (B7) Certificate services complaints | Percentage of instances performed within two days elapsed time | 99.0 |
| (B8) Certificate disputes | Percentage of instances performed within one day elapsed time | 100.0 |
| (B9) Replacement Certificates | Percentage of instances performed within three days elapsed time | 99.0 |
Elapsed time—The aggregate of the elapsed times of the Activities (or Business Processes) (for which responsibility is assigned, in Schedule 2 or otherwise, to the Contractor) performed in the provision of a Service Element, such elapsed times (a) being measured from the Service Start Point to the Service end Point and recorded on a 24 hours clock, seven days a week. Elapsed time measures expressed as a number of days shall be construed as meaning that number of days multiplied by 24 hours. For the avoidance of doubt, Elapsed time shall exclude the duration of cheque clearance processing.
Criminal Record Certificates (CRC)—Standard Disclosure
Enhanced Criminal Record Certificate (ECRC)—Enhanced Disclosure.
Higher Level Certificate (HLC)—Standard and Enhanced Disclosures.
Disclosure Applications (Proof of Identity)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Criminal Records Bureau made of the adequacy of advice about what proofs of identity can be used in disclosure applications. [90115]
Hilary Benn: Decisions about the arrangements for checking the identity of disclosure applicants are a matter for the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). In formulating their policy, the Bureau took account of the experience of a number of other organisations, most notably the United Kingdom Passport Service, (UKPS) who have a long and notable record of achievement in this area. The CRB also wished, in line with the Modernising Government agenda, to place less reliance on paper documentation and greater reliance on electronic access to private and public sector databases. It has also sought to depend on face-to-face identity checks by registered bodies wherever possible.
Drug Abstinence Orders
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug abstinence orders have been made by the courts under the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. [91015]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Drug abstinence orders (DAO) and drug abstinence requirements (DAR) were made available to the courts covering the three pilot sites, Nottingham, Staffordshire and Hackney on 5 November 2001. As at 28 February 2002, seven drug abstinence orders and 85 drug abstinence requirements have been issued. The pilot programme was extended to a further six sites, Bedford, Blackpool, Doncaster, Torquay, Wirral, and Wrexham and Mold in the summer of 2002. Further outcomes from the pilot sites will be available in the interim evaluation report due in the spring of 2003.
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