Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Disclosure and Barring Service Statistics, published on 28 January 2016, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Metropolitan Police disclosure unit against the Disclosure and Barring Service service standards.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to help MPS meet its Service Level Agreement targets. The performance of police disclosure units is an operational issue for individual police forces and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has established a Gold Group, on which DBS is represented, to oversee the recovery plan in place to reduce the time taken for applicants awaiting a response to Disclosure and Barring checks. I have made clear to the MPS that its current delays must be addressed as a matter of priority and I continue to maintain close oversight of the progress being made.