Government attacks firm over schools vetting delay

The private sector firm that runs the Criminal Records Bureau was condemned by the Secretary of State for Education yesterday over delays in vetting teachers that have disrupted the start of the school year.

Estelle Morris declared herself a "very dissatisfied customer" of Capita, the firm awarded the £400m CRB contract, as thousands of children remained off school despite a government decision to revert to the old system of processing police checks.

Stock market analysts predicted that Capita would make post-tax profits of £1.4m this year from the criminal records deal and would be compensated by the taxpayer for the cost of dealing with the delays.

Ms Morris expressed anger at Capita but urged people not to use the fiasco as an excuse to attack private-sector involvement in public services.

Capita said in a statement that it would not profit from the delays because it was paid only for checks that were completed. "Capita is not seeking to gain additional payment from the agency relating to backlogs," it said.

The Criminal Records Bureau was launched in April to provide a central system of checks on those wanting to work with children. It was supposed to check teachers against List 99, the secret dossier of people convicted or suspected of child abuse, in three weeks, but delays grew almost immediately.

Capita, founded in 1987 by its executive chairman, Rod Aldridge, was awarded the 10-year CRB contract in 2000. The firm was also awarded the contract to run Individual Learning Accounts, the Government's flagship adult education scheme that collapsed last year when fraudulent claims made it go more than £60m over budget.

It has also been appointed to administer the congestion-charging scheme proposed by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and won the contract to manage TV licensing.

The Government decided on Wednesday to allow teachers who had not been vetted by the bureau into the classroom because many pupils had missed the start of term. Staff would be allowed to teach at the "discretion" of headteachers, Ms Morris said. Yesterday, headteachers were trying to contact staff and pupils to tell them to return to school.

The Department for Education and Skills sent new guidance to every school in England and Wales, letting schools use the old system of vetting. The department has resumed responsibility for List 99 to let the CRB concentrate on clearing its backlog.

A total of 2,100 pupils in Stockport, Greater Manchester, and Sandwell in the West Midlands had another day at home yesterday. Stockport County Borough Council is continuing with its own vetting scheme, announced this week, which allows headteachers to made their own "risk assessments" on unchecked staff and issue certificates to those that pass, enabling them to start work.