New approach to CRB checks saving £300,000

Surrey County Council expects to save up to £300,000 after launching a new system to conduct CRB checks.

Completing background checks online instead of on paper forms means waiting times for results have been cut to just a few days.

Surrey County Council chamber. Click the image to download

Under the previous paper system, it could take up to six weeks for a check to be processed.

The dramatic speeding up of the process means savings are estimated to reach £300,000 over three years.

Each year, Surrey carries out up to 10,000 checks.

Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Change and Efficiency Denise Le Gal said: “Value for money is at the heart of everything the council does and introducing this system saves a lot of time and cash.

“It speeds up the whole process for staff and job-seekers alike while saving local taxpayers up to £300,000 and is another great example of the council’s willingness to embrace technology to improve services.”

Other innovative initiatives include creating an online application for youth workers that will save up to £100,000 a year and developing technology to help support vulnerable children.

Councils have to do CRB checks for all jobs that involve working with vulnerable people.

Surrey is offering its online service to organisations and businesses across the country. For more information, contact Hannah Cursley on 0208 541 7580 or email onlinecrbservice@surreycc.gov.uk.

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For more information, please contact senior media relations officer Kevin Richardson on 0208 541 7267 or email kevin.richardson@surreycc.gov.uk.