Modernising the Disclosure and Barring Service inquiry
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) handles requests for disclosure of criminal records (or DBS checks) from employers and issues disclosure certificates. DBS checks are widely used by organisations in the public and private sector, such as schools and care homes, to check prospective employees and volunteers. In 2009, the Home Office launched a programme to increase the efficiency of safeguarding services. Key aims of the programme were to reduce the cost of running the disclosure service, through customers using a new and cheaper update service rather than continuing to use existing types of disclosure certificates. The Home Office expected 2.8 million paying users to be using the new update service by 2017–18, but it was not market tested and the actual number of users is around one million. According to a recent investigation from the National Audit Office , the modernisation programme is now running three and a half years late and expected costs have increased by £229 million. DBS is currently negotiating with its contractor, Tata Consultancy Services, over the delays. The modernisation programme and the update service were expected to increase the ease and frequency with which people were checked, thereby improving safeguarding. But the Home Office and DBS do not know how many people have been prevented from working with children or vulnerable adults through use of this information. On Monday 19 March the Public Accounts Committee will hold an evidence session on the Disclosure and Barring Service. The session will examine: Delays in the modernisation of the programme; Why the programme is so late and over budget; What safeguarding benefits will be delivered and by when.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) modernisation programme is another example of a Home Office project marred by poor planning and contracting, delays, spiralling costs, and a failure to understand what service users want. The modernisation programme is over four years late and costs are expected to be £229 million more than initially planned, while the new update service has seen a fraction of the demand expected by the Home Office in 2012. DBS re-evaluated the programme in 2014 but has not done enough to turn the programme around.
DBS is now negotiating with its contractor, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to deliver the programme, including agreeing a date for when modernisation will be complete.
There is a strong risk that they may run out of time before the contract ends in March 2019. In addition, the update service has not delivered the promise of a cheaper, better safeguarding service for customers. Instead of providing savings, DBS is charging customers £13 a year for the update service instead of the £10 expected in 2012, and is holding onto cash generated from the rest of the services it provides, building up a surplus at the expense of its customers. The Department needs to keep a close watch over negotiations and ensure that taxpayers, who have already seen too much money wasted on the programme, do not continue to see money going down the drain.
What the government said
No government response is linked to this report.
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 21 December 2017 to 27 February 2019.
- Oral evidence 19 Mar 2018
- Report 25 May 2018
- Correspondence 3 letters
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 42nd Report - Modernising the Disclosure and Barring Service ↗ on parliament.uk.
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1
- 19 Mar 2018No witnesses recordedparliament.uk ↗