Criminal Records Bureau set to put up fees again

27 Nov 03
The Criminal Records Bureau is poised to increase its fees again, just five months after a 100% hike in its charges for criminal checks, Public Finance has learnt.

28 November 2003

The Criminal Records Bureau is poised to increase its fees again, just five months after a 100% hike in its charges for criminal checks, Public Finance has learnt.

Home Office minister Hazel Blears is understood to be making a number of announcements on the CRB next week, among them a rise in fees for standard and enhanced checks.

The agency, which has been struggling to meet its performance targets and clear a huge backlog in criminal checks since its launch last year, increased its fees in July from £12 to £24 for standard checks and £29 for the enhanced version.

The increase was part of a package to put the agency, a public-private partnership between Capita and the Home Office, on an even keel and included a £19m cash injection. Poor computer systems and basic errors with the CRB's processes led to a significant overspend in its first year of operation.

The decision comes despite an apparent improvement in the bureau's performance – it now claims to have 'the capacity' to process 60,000 checks a week.

Details on the extent of the increase were not clear but a source said they could be significant.

Any hike in fees will hit councils, which have just received a tight budget settlement, schools, health bodies and voluntary organisations hard.

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said his members would be appalled by the decision. 'Capita has been given a licence to print money and make profits out of schools. At a time when school budgets are strapped for cash, it's the last news that they want. The government is showing gross insensitivity allowing this to happen.'

PFnov2003

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top