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International News

Staff Vetting Leaves 70m Bill

December 01, 2010 posted by Steve Brownstein

Staff vetting in the health and social care sectors ran up costs of almost £70 million last year, figures have shown.

Campaigners claimed the rules requiring Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks for carers working with vulnerable adults were a waste of money.

They said it costs millions of pounds, adding that the money would be better spent elsewhere on delivering improved public services.

The call comes after a Government review was recently launched into the vetting of people working with vulnerable adults. The review will also look at the criminal records regime.

Home Secretary Theresa May pushed for a "common sense" approach to brought in, with the Government saying current procedures were "not a proportionate response".

Ken McLaughlin, co-author of the report Carers or Suspects?, said: "Official policy vastly overstates the vulnerability of adults receiving health or social care. This is just a licence for the state to interfere in caring relationships."

Co-author Josie Appleton, director of the Manifesto Club which campaigns against the hyper-regulation of everyday life, added: "As well as wasting public money, over-cautious rules mean that carers cannot do their jobs in the way they want to - for example, they can't be alone with an elderly person in a car, or can't help an old lady to the toilet."

The total cost for CRB checks for those working with vulnerable adults has reached £164.7 million since 2004, including £69 million in 2009/10 alone, the report found.

 

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