4.13 Once applications were passed to Agency staff, there were delays in checking information on the Police National Computer for a limited period between July and September 2002. Searches produced potential matches for around 60 per cent of applications but only 8 to 12 per cent of the population has a criminal conviction. Time was therefore spent weeding out incorrect matches before a Disclosure could be issued. This was part of the system design to minimise the risk of missing a match. However the seconding of additional staff from the Passport Service as well as system enhancement effected recovery.
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| Examples of the impact of delays told to the National Audit Office by particular organisations and individuals |
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| ■ The slow processing of disclosures delayed recruitment for East Sussex Council. For social work, staff have regular unsupervised access to the vulnerable and new staff had therefore to be closely supervised until the Disclosure arrived. ■ A survey of voluntary organisations found that delays had caused a variety of problems including the loss of staff and potential volunteers as they were no longer available by the time disclosures were issued28. ■ The Children's Rights Director for England reported that children in care were concerned that delays affected their social lives and health care. For example, if a child in care wished to stay overnight with a friend, the friend's parents must apply for a Disclosure -a check that takes too long for an event like an overnight stay. |
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| Source: National Audit Office Analysis of interviews with stakeholders |
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| Comparisons of assumptions with actual events |
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| Assumptions made in Business Prospectus -October 1999 & Statement of Service Requirements January 2000 | Business Case -prepared August 2000 (on basis of Capita's bid against the Statement of Service Requirements) | Evidence for assumption | What actually happened | Impact |
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| Expected volumes 9-12 million | Steady state forecast 7-11 million annually by Year 5 | Demand forecasting based on market research commissioned by Agency | Current levels of demand are lower than expected and original forecasts are unlikely ever to be achieved | Likelihood of long term fees being higher than intended and ongoing financial and business viability risks |
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| Applications would come from individuals | Applications would come from individuals | Legislation states that disclosures can only be issued if requested by the individual | Individuals apply but employers send applications in batches and the Bureau is developing main relationships with them | Systems and processes were designed around receipt of individual applications rather than batches and could not cope initially when batched applications came in. Business processes proved unable to cope with volume of errors and exceptions and the complexity of dealing with both individuals and employers |
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| Civil Servants must check Police National Computer data initially but there may be scope for an evolutionary approach during term of contract | Civil Servants to check Police National Computer data | Home Office legal advice | Civil Servants currently check Police National Computer data | Lack of end to end management and lack of flexibility in deploying staff. Provisions in the Criminal Justice Bill will now allow this function to be delegated to the private sector |
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| Expected channel mix specified as 80% telephone and Modernising Government Agenda emphasised | Year 1 telephone 70:30 postal. Year 10 50:35:15 electronic: telephone: postal29 | Assumptions about customer behaviour, rather than consultation, influenced the solutions put forward by bidders | Approximately 4:1 postal: telephone ratio with higher than expected completion error rates by applicants. Offset partly by lower volumes early on | Systems and processes could not cope with paper applications as they were designed to handle telephone applications. A paper channel was 'bolted on' to begin with. More staff have been recruited; substantial process changes made including documents keyed in India. Telephone proved not to be of interest to customers nor effective in operation. Electronic route is indefinitely delayed while the Independent Review Team recommendations are considered |
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| No assumption was made on fees at this stage | Enhanced:£15-£16 | Financial model developed by the Agency to ensure Bureau could break even | Fees for all types of Disclosure were set a £12. No fee for volunteers | Fees do not cover costs |
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| No assumptions were made on product mix at this stage | Year 1 Enhanced 2.4m Standard 0.1m | Market research, refined by bidders and the Bureau, recognised this as an area of great uncertainty | 87 per cent of applications are for Enhanced Disclosures | Proportion of Enhanced applications as expected and so no impact on plan |
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| No indication of proposed roll-out method was given | Where possible will phase the introduction of certificate applications for different purposes | Practicalities made it difficult to have a phased roll out. One month pilot phase covering areas of existing coverage only. Volumes were kept low in first two months | 'Big Bang' approach to high level disclosures but some health legislation has been postponed; now to be introduced as performance has improved | Delays to planned service extensions |
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| Source: National Audit Office analysis |
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28 Survey commissioned by Erica De'Ath OBE, Chief Executive of The National Council for Voluntary Child Care Organisations in July 2002.
29 The expected level of telephone applications varies at points of the procurement process between 70 and 85%, representing the Agency's best guess at the time.