Summertime Ends 2009

Summer time will end on Sunday 25 October at 2.00am GMT throughout European Union Member States. The Clocks go backwards an hour. This means that at 2.00am British Summer Time (BST) the UK will move to 1.00am Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The 9th EC Directive on summer time harmonised, for an indefinite period, the dates on which summer time begins and ends across member states as the last Sundays in March and October respectively. Under the Directive, summer time begins and ends at 1.00am GMT in each Member State. Amendments to the Summer Time Act to implement the Directive came into force on 11 March 2002.

Time zones are the responsibility of individual Member States and vary across the EU. The UK is not planning to move to Central European Time.

The Criminal Records Bureau Reduces Fees

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has reduced the fee for Standard Disclosures.

Following a pricing review, the government agency has agreed to reduce the fee charged for a Standard Disclosure from £31 to £26. The change will come into effect from today.

For the third year running the CRB has refused to increase its fees. The planned fee reduction has been made possible due to an expected increase in the volume of disclosure applications being processed as the new Vetting and Barring Scheme comes into place from 12 October.

Checks for volunteers will continue to be free of charge which provided a saving to the voluntary sector of approximately £27 million in 2008/09.

Home Office Minister Lord Brett said:

“The CRB plays a vital role helping to protect the most vulnerable in our society by giving employers the extra tools they need to make informed recruitment decisions.

“The cost of a CRB check continues to represent good value for money given the protection and assurance that such checks provide.

“In 2008 a further 18,000 unsuitable people were prevented from gaining access to children and vulnerable adults as a direct result of a CRB check, bringing the total to around 98,000 in the past five years.”

Today’s fee decrease follows the publication of the CRB’s Annual Report and Accounts and Business Plan for 2009/10.

The business plan outlines the priorities for the year ahead and shows that during the past 12 months the CRB has:

• worked closely with the Home Office and Independent Safeguarding Authority to develop systems and processes ready for the Vetting & Barring Scheme (VBS);
• launched the first electronic application channel, e-Bulk, which allows its largest volume customers to submit multiple applications online, bringing many benefits to the CRB and its customers, including faster results and improved quality and accuracy; 
• extended the range of jobs, posts and positions that are entitled to a CRB check as part of safer recruitment practices;
• increased customer satisfaction rates to an all-time high and gained overwhelming support for CRB checks on anyone working with children and vulnerable adults; and
• prevented a further 18,000 unsuitable people from gaining access to children and vulnerable adults as a direct result of a CRB check,brining the total to around 98,000 in the past five years.

This level of investment will continue during the next 12 months as the CRB works towards implementation of the Vetting and Barring Scheme and continues to maintain and enhance its existing services and overall performance.

From today, the following fee levels will apply throughout the remainder of 2009/10:

- Standard CRB check £26 (reduced from £31)
- Enhanced CRB check £36
- POVAFirst check  £6