According to information recently obtained through a freedom of information request, thousands of school employees experienced delays of two months or more in obtaining Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in 2023. These long delays have been attributed to staff shortages at the DBS, and a huge increase in demand that overwhelmed police forces.
According to the Freedom of Information data, 2.59% of all disclosure checks submitted during the 2022-23 academic year took over 60 days to process. This marks a significant increase from the 2021-22 rate of 0.69% taking 60 days, and the 2020-21 rate of 0.28%. What could this mean for you if you have been asked to apply for a DBS check for a new job in 2024?
Unnecessary Delays
Teaching unions have expressed concern about the prolonged and “unnecessary” delays affecting recruitment. They have highlighted that excessive delays in getting disclosure checks for new members of staff potentially leading to more schools relying on supply staff and individuals without subject expertise.
While police forces have an agreement with the DBS to complete checks within 60 days, breaches can occur. There is no penalty to the DBS or the police forces processing the checks if these take longer than the 60-day target. There have always been fluctuations in processing times across the course of the year, or between different areas of the country. The DBS acknowledged that some delays were due to increased demand and police resource shortages in specific counties. Data about time taken for processing DBS checks was previously published on the DBS website, but this has not been updated since April 2021.
Regional Differences in DBS Processing Times
Monthly data collected by an educational magazine revealed huge differences between different areas in the UK. In Northumbria three in every ten checks took over 60 days, whereas despite West Yorkshire reporting a high level of vacancies within its police checking department, only one in every twenty DBS checks in West Yorkshire took over the 60-day target. Many police forces attribute the delays to an increasing volume of applications from school workers, which was up 4.4% from the previous year. Vacancy rates are not uniform across the country though, and areas of the country which have high vacancy rates in education departments and police services will experience even more serious delays.
Advice When Applying for DBS Checks
Firstly, don’t assume that delays are a foregone conclusion. Not everyone will run into delay and depending on the role you have been hired for, you may be able to start work before your DBS certificate comes through. Always act promptly when you’re asked to log into a website and fill in a form or upload identity documents such as your passport or driving licence. If you run into difficulties, ask for help or advice straight away. Although there is nothing you can do to speed up processing once the form gets to the DBS, you can improve your chances of a quick turnaround by minimising delays at your end.
