Increase in numbers waiting for DBS checks

The number of people waiting for DBS checks to be processed by Sussex Police has increased over the past month.

Figures obtained by the BBC show 12,072 people were waiting for enhanced DBS checks to be processed by the force in October.

That is more than the waiting list of 10,633 enhanced applications that the BBC reported were outstanding in September.

Sussex Police said delays were due to increasing demand and high staff turnover, but new case workers were being recruited and trained.

Dan King, a maintenance worker from Bognor Regis, says that when he got a new job at a care home in Littlehampton, he handed in his notice and in August applied for his DBS check.

He should have started work in October, but says he is still waiting for his DBS certificate to arrive.

He said: “I’m pretty annoyed to be honest. I should have started my new job and settled in before Christmas.

"I would have been fine financially.”

To earn a living while he waits, he has taken a temporary job 70 miles from home in Bournemouth.

He said: “It’s really stressful not knowing at the end of the month if I’m going to have enough money to be able to pay my bills.”

Dani Maynard, from Jevington, already has one DBS check to work as a swimming teacher at St Bede’s School in Hailsham, but she says she needs an additional one to teach at the club for local children at the school pool.

She has been waiting for her DBS check for four months which has impacted the club and put pressure on other coaches and her family finances.

She said: “We’ve had to cancel and delay many lessons. We’ve have already had a huge delay thanks to Covid. Children are getting back into the water, but we cannot get the staff in.“

She added: “It’s impacted me financially. It’s the top-up that I think a lot of single-income families rely on nowadays.

"Half term could have been a bit more fun, but that extra income wasn’t there.”

Sussex Police says it has recruited more case workers which is expected to increase application responses when they are fully trained.

A spokesperson for the force said: ”Sussex Police has experienced delays in responding to DBS applications due to increasing demand and a period of high staff turnover. We recognise the impact these delays have.”

The government's Disclosure and Barring Service said the average time to process enhanced applications nationally in October was 11.4 days.

A spokesperson said it was supporting Sussex Police with funding for additional staff, funding overtime while new staff are trained and managing workload-sharing with other forces.

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