Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the mechanism is for applicants to the Metropolitan Police Service to request sight of confidential disclosures made about them as part of the vetting process.

Police vetting is a matter for forces. They are required to follow the College of Policing’s statutory code of practice on vetting, supported by the College’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance on vetting.

The APP guidance outlines that forces should put allegations (recorded as intelligence) to the applicant where appropriate, taking into consideration factors such as the grading of the intelligence, potential for a source to be revealed, the threat to the wellbeing of a third party and/or the potential compromise of an operation or investigation.

All decisions and rationale for rejection should be communicated to the applicant in as much detail as possible, taking into account the circumstances of the case.