HC Deb 11 June 1999 vol 332 cc431-2W
Dr. Cable

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the current applications process for police checks in the National Identification Service; and if he will make a statement. [86199]

Kate Hoey

The Metropolitan Police Service's Character Enquiries section, which is based in the National Identification Service, carries out pre-employment vetting checks in accordance with administrative arrangements agreed between the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). New arrangements for criminal record checks, which will address the limitations of the current system, were included in Part V of the Police Act 1997. The various checks provided for in the Act will be undertaken by the new Criminal Records Bureau which is in the process of being established.