Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent changes to DBS filtering rules on the disclosure of historic convictions on Standard DBS checks; what safeguards exist to prevent disproportionate disclosure affecting access to employment; and whether she plans to review the filtering rules to reduce the likelihood of very old convictions reappearing on Standard checks.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Employers can only request higher‑level checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) where the role meets the eligibility criteria set out in legislation. Standard checks are available only for positions listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, and access to enhanced checks requires inclusion in both the Exceptions Order and the Police Act 1997 regulations.

Applications for standard and enhanced checks must be submitted to the DBS via Registered Bodies (RBs) who play a key part in identifying the correct level of check for individual job roles. The DBS invests substantial resources into supporting the work of RBs and carries out routine assurance exercises with all RBs on a rolling basis.

When this process identifies non-compliance, the DBS sets deadlines for corrective actions and monitors progress. Over the past two years, all RBs have demonstrated compliance within required timescales, and no suspensions or deregistrations have been necessary. If non-compliance were to persist, the DBS would consider sanctions against the RB, including suspending individual signatories or the RB as a whole.

The DBS also provides a growing level of support to service-users to promote improved understanding of eligibility and the purposes for which checks may be used.

The Government keeps filtering rules and eligibility under continuous review. On 2 December 2025, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the Government will consider opportunities to simplify the criminal records regime to ensure it is clear and proportionate, particularly in relation to childhood offences. The Home Office and Ministry of Justice are working together to consider next steps.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of enforcement of the requirement that the level of DBS checks must be proportionate to the role; what steps she is taking to strengthen compliance and enforcement; and whether she plans to introduce additional (a) powers, (b) guidance and (c) penalties to prevent inappropriate requests for higher-level checks.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Employers can only request higher‑level checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) where the role meets the eligibility criteria set out in legislation. Standard checks are available only for positions listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, and access to enhanced checks requires inclusion in both the Exceptions Order and the Police Act 1997 regulations.

Applications for standard and enhanced checks must be submitted to the DBS via Registered Bodies (RBs) who play a key part in identifying the correct level of check for individual job roles. The DBS invests substantial resources into supporting the work of RBs and carries out routine assurance exercises with all RBs on a rolling basis.

When this process identifies non-compliance, the DBS sets deadlines for corrective actions and monitors progress. Over the past two years, all RBs have demonstrated compliance within required timescales, and no suspensions or deregistrations have been necessary. If non-compliance were to persist, the DBS would consider sanctions against the RB, including suspending individual signatories or the RB as a whole.

The DBS also provides a growing level of support to service-users to promote improved understanding of eligibility and the purposes for which checks may be used.

The Government keeps filtering rules and eligibility under continuous review. On 2 December 2025, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the Government will consider opportunities to simplify the criminal records regime to ensure it is clear and proportionate, particularly in relation to childhood offences. The Home Office and Ministry of Justice are working together to consider next steps.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent employers from requesting Standard or Enhanced DBS checks where a basic check would be sufficient; what assessment her Department has made of the grounds on which higher-level checks are requested; and what steps her Department is taking where employers are routinely requesting a higher level of check than is required for a role.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Employers can only request higher‑level checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) where the role meets the eligibility criteria set out in legislation. Standard checks are available only for positions listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, and access to enhanced checks requires inclusion in both the Exceptions Order and the Police Act 1997 regulations.

Applications for standard and enhanced checks must be submitted to the DBS via Registered Bodies (RBs) who play a key part in identifying the correct level of check for individual job roles. The DBS invests substantial resources into supporting the work of RBs and carries out routine assurance exercises with all RBs on a rolling basis.

When this process identifies non-compliance, the DBS sets deadlines for corrective actions and monitors progress. Over the past two years, all RBs have demonstrated compliance within required timescales, and no suspensions or deregistrations have been necessary. If non-compliance were to persist, the DBS would consider sanctions against the RB, including suspending individual signatories or the RB as a whole.

The DBS also provides a growing level of support to service-users to promote improved understanding of eligibility and the purposes for which checks may be used.

The Government keeps filtering rules and eligibility under continuous review. On 2 December 2025, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the Government will consider opportunities to simplify the criminal records regime to ensure it is clear and proportionate, particularly in relation to childhood offences. The Home Office and Ministry of Justice are working together to consider next steps.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has conducted an equality impact assessment for prioritising employed applicants over self-employed applicants within Access to Work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Access to Work prioritises both employed, and self-employed applicants who are due to start work within the next four weeks or renewing existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment. There are not separate systems for employed and self‑employed applicants and awards are assessed on the number of hours worked for both groups of applicants. Employed applicants are assessed against their set contracted hours, and there is a cap on the number of hours that can be provided. This is different for self-employed customers, as they self-declare their number of working hours. We know that, in general, self-employed people work longer per week than employed people.

We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform, and ensure Access to Work is tailored to the needs of all customers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of not prioritising employed applicants over self-employed applicants within Access to Work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Access to Work prioritises both employed, and self-employed applicants who are due to start work within the next four weeks or renewing existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment. There are not separate systems for employed and self‑employed applicants and awards are assessed on the number of hours worked for both groups of applicants. Employed applicants are assessed against their set contracted hours, and there is a cap on the number of hours that can be provided. This is different for self-employed customers, as they self-declare their number of working hours. We know that, in general, self-employed people work longer per week than employed people.

We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform, and ensure Access to Work is tailored to the needs of all customers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason applications from employed applicants are prioritised over self-employed applicants within Access to Work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Access to Work prioritises both employed, and self-employed applicants who are due to start work within the next four weeks or renewing existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment. There are not separate systems for employed and self‑employed applicants and awards are assessed on the number of hours worked for both groups of applicants. Employed applicants are assessed against their set contracted hours, and there is a cap on the number of hours that can be provided. This is different for self-employed customers, as they self-declare their number of working hours. We know that, in general, self-employed people work longer per week than employed people.

We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform, and ensure Access to Work is tailored to the needs of all customers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to introduce a target for equal processing times for (a) employed and (b) self-employed disabled applicants to Access to Work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Access to Work prioritises both employed, and self-employed applicants who are due to start work within the next four weeks or renewing existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment. There are not separate systems for employed and self‑employed applicants and awards are assessed on the number of hours worked for both groups of applicants. Employed applicants are assessed against their set contracted hours, and there is a cap on the number of hours that can be provided. This is different for self-employed customers, as they self-declare their number of working hours. We know that, in general, self-employed people work longer per week than employed people.

We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform, and ensure Access to Work is tailored to the needs of all customers.

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NHS dentistry

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