§ Lord Islwynasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will use powers under Part V of the Police Act 1997 to waive charges to voluntary organisations for checks by the Criminal Records Bureau. [HL299]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bassam of Brighton)Work is continuing to determine the bureau's costs. An announcement about the level of charges will be made as soon as possible. Waiving charges for voluntary organisations would mean imposing an additional burden on the taxpayer, or higher charges for other users of the bureau's services whose circumstances may be no less deserving. But we are determined to keep charges as low as possible.