HC Deb 17 July 2003 vol 409 cc594-5W
Mr. Hawkins

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial support is provided by Government to the Criminal Records Bureau; when the Bureau expects to become self-financing; and what impact he estimates self-financing may have on future fee levels for disclosure certificates. [122485]

Paul Goggins

In 2003–04 the Home Office, Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills are expected to contribute £18.8 million towards the £75 million cost of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB); the remainder will be met from fee income. Further funding by the three Departments will be provided in 2004–05. The CRB is expected to become self-funding from 2005–06. The fees for Disclosures are reviewed annually. Decisions on any fee increase for future years will be taken in the light of the then best estimates of the costs of the Disclosure service and the level of demand.

Mr. Hawkins

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the timetable is for taking forward the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Criminal Records Bureau. [122486]

Paul Goggins

Work is progressing on implementing the Independent Review Team's 10 recommendations. As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary made clear in his written statement on 27 February 2003,Official Report, columns 32–36WS, a number of the recommendations are dependent on primary legislation while others are linked to the re-negotiation of the contract with Capita. Amendments to Part 5 of the Police Act 1997, under which the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) operates, have now been incorporated into the Criminal Justice Bill (recommendations 1,2,3,4 and 10). The contract renegotiations with Capita are ongoing and we expect to conclude them by late autumn (recommendations 1 and 7). The CRB is on course to pilot the electronic submission of applications by the end of the year (recommendation 3) and is currently piloting an electronic database to 'flag' the existence of local police intelligence (recommendation 5). We are considering the results of the consultation on the Review Team's proposal (recommendation 6) that applications for Basic Disclosures should be routed through a registered body. We expect to issue a consultation paper by the end of July on whether applicants for the most sensitive positions should be required to submit their fingerprints with their Disclosure application (recommendation 8). An announcement on establishing the CRB as a separate Agency will be made soon (recommendation 9).

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the revenue gained as a result of the proposed increase to disclosure fees for standard and enhanced disclosures by the Criminal Records Bureau. [122768]

Paul Goggins

The estimated revenue gained as a result of the increase in Criminal Records Bureau disclosure fees for the period 1 July 2003 to 31 March 2004 is £29.5 million. Total revenue from fees in 2003–04 is estimated to be £56.2 million, with the Home Office, Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills contributing the balance, of £18.8 million, towards the £75 million cost of the Bureau.