§ Mr. WhiteTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost of the Criminal Records Bureau providing free criminal records checks for all voluntary organisations whose primary work is with children. [83546]
§ Mr. BoatengIt is intended that all applicants will be required to pay for certificates from the Criminal Records Bureau. It is difficult to estimate what the cost of free certificates would be to the Bureau, as it is not known how many volunteers would be required to apply for certificates, but the cost is potentially enormous. If checks were provided only to new volunteers seeking the higher levels of checks the cost could exceed £10 million a year. If checks were extended to all existing volunteers the cost could be between £40-£1200 million. The cost of the fees for certificates from the Bureau will be kept to the minimum necessary to recoup costs.