§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Prime Minister (1) what recent representations have been made by other states concerning provision of counter terrorism check clearance; what states have agreed to co-operate or have entered reciprocal arrangements; and what states have refused to co-operate or expressed reservations; [147006]
(2) if he will list those Departments and list X companies experiencing difficulties with counter terrorism check processing arising at governmental level in the Republic of Ireland and what the nature of these difficulties are; [147002]
(3) how many posts are subject to counter terrorism check clearances; how many candidates in each Department have been rejected as a result of a failure to obtain CTC clearance in the last five years; what time 693W delay is built into the recruitment process to allow for CTC clearance; and what the ethnic and national breakdown is of those rejected candidates. [147003]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 23 January 2001]Security vetting is carried out in accordance with the policy set out by the then Prime Minister in reply to a question from Sir Anthony Durant (then the hon. Member for Reading, West) on 15 December 1994,Official Report, columns 764–66W. Where an individual being vetted has overseas connections, for example if he or she has lived abroad, it is possible in certain circumstances for inquiries to be made with overseas agencies. In such cases there can be delays in obtaining information, and thus in Departments being able to make decisions on clearance. It is not Government policy to provide details of security matters, including relationships with other countries; but there are currently no particular difficulties in respect of vetting checks.
The length of the vetting process can vary according to individual circumstances, and it is for Departments and agencies to take this into account in their recruitment and personnel procedures. It is not Government policy to comment on the total numbers subject to security vetting, but in the year 1999–2000, 926 people were refused a CTC, or had such a clearance withdrawn. Information concerning the ethnic and national background of these individuals is not held centrally.