Security Vetting (Hansard, 20 March 1997)

§ Mr. Soames

On 1 April 1997, the three single service vetting units and part of the Directorate of Headquarters Security will be brought together to form the Defence Vetting Agency. The aim of the agency is to provide an acceptable level of assurance as to the integrity of personnel in the armed forces, the MOD and defence industry who are given authorised access to sensitive Government information or valuable assets. In addition, the agency will undertake vetting work for other Government Departments on a repayment basis.

The DVA will have a staff of about 350, all civilians, located mainly in Portsmouth, Woolwich, Wiltshire and central London. The assistant under-secretary of state, security and support, will be the owner of the DVA on behalf of the Secretary of State. The owner will set the strategic direction of the DVA and the policy and standards to be followed.

The DVA chief executive, a member of the senior civil service appointed by open competition, will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the agency. The chief executive has been set the following key targets:

Quality
1. By internal validation, to show at least 95 per cent. compliance with quality standards and procedures.
2. By 31 March 1998, to have developed and agreed the means of externally validating the quality of the agency outputs, and determined and set targets for subsequent improvement.
Quantity
3. To meet all in-year requests for vetting, within the quantities represented in the defence vetting programme.
Timeliness
4. To complete 85 per cent. of security checks and counter terrorist checks within the six-week time scale set out in departmental instructions.
5. To complete 95 per cent. of requests for developed vetting clearances within the six month time scale set out in departmental instructions.
Service delivery
6. To meet 95 per cent. of target dates for developed vetting clearances agreed with customers.
Efficiency
7. To demonstrate a 3 per cent. improvement in efficiency on operating costs in financial year 1997–98.
Management
8. To implement the customer group concept as a basis for future financial and management planning, within financial year 1997–98.
9. To implement an initial agency management information system by 1 October 1997.
Investors in people
10. In financial year 1997–98, to commit formally to the Investors in People programme and to complete the necessary in-vear preliminary activities to ensure accreditation by May 1999.
Planning for the future
11. By 31 March 1998, to have designed the future vetting processes of the agency, and to have in place the costed plans to reorganise and collocate to implement the re-engineered processes.

I have arranged for copies of the agency's framework document and corporate plan to be placed in the Library of both Houses.