The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is designed to help employers make safer, more informed recruitment decisions. It also prevents unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups through its criminal record checking and barring functions. Under current legislation, individuals employing people directly are not entitled to ask for a standard or enhanced DBS check about the carers they hire. The Government is aware that measures need to be put in place to ensure the safety of individuals who employ carers directly. Self-employed individuals could obtain a DBS check by registering with an agency under which they would then be contracted, or by ‘porting’ their DBS certificate from other employment or voluntary work. Responsibility for the legislation which defines whether individuals are able to request a person to reveal their full criminal history, rests with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May).