Criminal Records Bureau: Capita Contract (Hansard, 8 September 2003)

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal

The information sought by the right honourable gentleman in relation to the proportion by value of the work contracted to Capita Group plc by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) undertaken in the United Kingdom is not available. Under the terms of the CRB contract, all of the work contracted to Capita Group plc is carried out in the United Kingdom, with the exception of an element of the disclosure data entry process which is conducted in India. That process involves the data entry of personal information from the application form into an electronic format. This work is conducted at the beginning of the process and no information from police sources or other data sources is involved. The price paid for this work is commercially sensitive between Hays Commercial Services and Capita Group plc and cannot therefore be disclosed according to the terms of the contract.

At the time the contract was awarded in August 2000, it was estimated to be worth £400 million over 10 years. The annual value of the contract between CRB and Capita is dependent on activity volumes. In the financial year to 31 March 2003 the CRB paid Capita £22.7 million in service charges under the contract and £13.1 million in respect of contract changes in that year.