Criminal Records Bureau is praised for recovering from bad start

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has turned itself around and become a highly efficient organisation, according to Sian Thomas, deputy director of health service employers’ body NHS Employers.

CRB checks were now fit for purpose and should reduce the cost of temporary workers in the NHS, Thomas told delegates.

“The CRB is now a fantastic organisation. What it wants and what we want is improved quality and lower costs,” she said.

Thomas then called on NHS trusts to take on more temporary workers to cover shortfalls in staff,

“I urge you to consider temporary workers as part of your employment strategy,” she told delegates.

Thomas’s comments were in stark contrast to the negative views of recruitment experts after the CRB announced it would no longer endorse “portability requests“, which re-use a disclosure obtained by a recruitment firm or by another employer.

Phil Dixon, divisional manager at Morgan Hunt recruitment consultancy, said: “When assignments last only a few days, it can prove unrealistic to obtain a new check for every temp, especially if they are required at short notice.”

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For more on portability requests

personneltoday.com/36718.article