Almost £600m has been spent checking the backgrounds of people working with children since 2002, leading to claims that the system is now ‘out of control'. Ministers have revealed that the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has levied £571m in charges – usually paid by public bodies – for background checks over the past seven years, while the number of checks performed annually has soared from 1.4 million in 2002/03 to 3.9 million in 2008/09. Thousands of applicants for public sector posts have been forced to pay for checks several times in quick succession – often for each application they make – leading to claims the system is overly bureaucratic and that the fees regime has been exploited by the CRB, an executive agency of the Home Office. Checks were brought in after a wave of cases where unsuitable people had gained access to children. The system was then tightened following the Soham murder case involving school caretaker, Ian Huntley, and the deaths of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells. The Liberal Democrats this month claimed the system was now so ‘clunky' that it discouraged suitable applicants from applying for posts – contributing to the shortage in children's care workers. Jenny Willott, Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokeswoman, said: ‘The Government is allowing CRB checking to run out of control. ‘Checking criminal records of people working with children and vulnerable adults is essential. But when the system is so clumsy and costly that it starts putting people off, there is something seriously wrong.' But the Home Office said the background checks – introduced to prevent cases such as the employment of Mr Huntley, who went on to commit the murder of the two schoolgirls – were ‘effective' in preventing unsuitable employees, and that the fees system represented ‘value for money'. A spokesman said: ‘We have recently reduced the CRB fees as part of the business plan for 2009/10 from £31 to £26.'
