(part1):

Thank you for your letter of 18th April 2005 requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Your request relates to the use of 0870 numbers by the CRB and in particular requested:

·
Geographical numbers for all services that currently operate on 0870 numbers;

·
Any relevant information as to why the CRB introduced 0870 revenue generating numbers (minutes of meetings etc) and the amounts of revenue that the CRB receives from using such numbers; and

·
Minutes of meetings and any other information that relates to the CRB consideration of the COI advice

Before each of the points above are addressed it may be helpful to set the context for the CRB response to your request by the provision of a brief overview of the Disclosure Service operated by the CRB.

The CRB was established under Part V of the Police Act 1997 with the set aim to:

“Help employers and voluntary organisations make more informed recruitment decisions through improved access to Government and police records. This will facilitate safer recruitment and protect the vulnerable.”

The CRB achieves its purpose by providing a service called Disclosure. This is a carefully regulated one-stop shop service that enables organisations making a recruitment decision in the UK to gain access to important criminal and other information for recruitment and licensing purposes.

The Disclosure follows a set process. The Disclosure application form is completed jointly by the applicant followed by the Registered Body, who will submit the application to the CRB.

A Registered Body is an organisation registered with the CRB who has:

·
the ability to ask an exempted question under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975

·
will comprise of a Lead Signatory and Countersignatories accepted by the CRB as being suitable to receive Disclosure information (this involves a check to the same level as an Enhanced Disclosure) and

·
is bound by the provisions of the CRB Code of Practice.

The key factors here lie within the legislation that underpins the Disclosure Service. The ability to asked an exempted question under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 is held only by a person in the course of the duties of his office or employment. Thus an individual cannot ask an exempted question of him or herself and consequently cannot apply for a higher level Disclosure individually. Furthermore both the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Police Act 1997 extend only to the UK. Accordingly the exempted question and thus the recruitment decision must be made within the UK.

There are two levels of checks currently available from the CRB: the Standard Disclosure and the Enhanced Disclosure. A Standard Disclosure will involve a check on the Police National Computer and will, where requested, involve checks on the lists held and maintained by the Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills of those persons considered unsuitable to work with children and/or vulnerable adults. The Enhanced Disclosure will involve the same checks as a Standard Disclosure but will also involve a check of local police force records for release of any information considered relevant to the position applied for.

When all the checks have been completed a Disclosure is initiated and dispatched to both the applicant and the Registered Body to allow a recruitment/licensing decision to be undertaken in conjunction with normal checks.

The third level of Disclosure introduced by the Police Act 1997, the Basic Disclosure, is not yet available from the CRB but is currently in the process of development. The Basic Disclosure will contain details of ‘un-spent’ convictions only (under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) and will be available to individual applicants directly. The Basic Disclosure will not involve a Registered Body.

(part 3):

·
Minutes of meetings and any other information that relates to the CRB consideration of the COI advice

The guidance issued by the Central Office of Information (COI) regarding the use of 0870 numbers, issued in August 2003, was not considered when the decision was taken in September 2000 to use national rate telephone numbers for the Disclosure service. Accordingly no information is held that relates to the consideration of this guidance.

Nevertheless, as previously discussed, the CRB is currently in the process of development of the Basic Disclosure service. The CRB development team is aware of the recently updated COI guidance on the use of 0870 numbers and accordingly the will consider the guidance in the development of a Basic Disclosure service. 

If you are not content with the outcome of your request you can request a review by writing to:

Head of Policy
Criminal Records Bureau
PO Box 165
Liverpool
L69 3JD

If you require any further assistance please feel free to contact me directly.

[end]

The statement "The CRB does not provide geographical numbers for services that operate under 0870 numbers" in part 2 sounds somewhat arrogant in nature, and it is likely that I will request an internal review. The CRB is part of the Home Office - a serial abuser of rip-off numbers.

isnt the CRB contracted out to capita?

I remember a big huge co*k up ages a while back, where apps took ages.
Same Company that runs the TV license, London Congestion Charging, Oyster Card, Lots of Local Councils recruitment and IT services, BBC's telephone system.

Quote:
I agree but I think what really took the HO/The Met by surprise was that they didn't realise the cost of calling NGN's from mobiles/payphones was, in some circumstances, as much as 30/40ppm and calling from abroad may not be possible.

Thanks for that idb.

I'll enter them into the database.

I was going to report the CRB to the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) but guess what?  The DRC is guilty of the same crime
DRC Telephone: 08457 622 633
DRC Textphone: 08457 622 644 (based on the speed of conversations on textphone - this is criminal!)
DRC Fax: 08457 778 878
http://www.drc-gb.org/whatwedo/helplineenquiry.asp