Delays in granting security clearance for civil servants are putting the implementation of crucial government policies such as Brexit at risk, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has warned.
An investigation by the National Audit Office found that more than 25,600 government staff and contractors were waiting in July to be cleared by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV), which checks the background of applicants to ensure they are not a security threat.
An increase in the number of delays has affected government’s ability to conduct official business, auditors found, and comes at a time when “government is managing a number of high-risk and high-profile projects”.
The report, published on Friday, noted that delays had risen at a time that there was a “high threat of terrorism” and the UK was a “high-priority target for espionage”.
Sir Amyas Morse, the NAO’s head, said the government needed to fix the problem as quickly as possible, particularly as it was hiring thousands of new recruits to work on Brexit.
“Considering the pressures facing government, the last thing we need is a non-functioning vetting system,” he said. “An effective system needs to be put in place urgently to ensure the government is able to use its staff effectively, giving them access to the right information, locations and equipment.”
Labour claimed that the problems had arisen because of a botched attempt by Theresa May’s government to cut costs. The report notes that the Cabinet Office, which is responsible for vetting policy, estimates the delays have led to inefficiencies costing £17m each year.
Chris Matheson, the shadow cabinet office minister, said: “This is a shameful example of the Tories prioritising cuts over national security. You can’t do security on the cheap.”
UKSV was set up in January 2017 as the government’s single vetting provider following the merger of two different agencies from the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office. The new agency was expected to reduce costs and increase productivity.
The agency’s job is to check that 170,000 staff, including civil servants, contractors and specialists, can be trusted with sensitive information or in high-security areas. The three most common categories of vetting are Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV), the latter allowing access to the most sensitive material.
DV is highly personal and can take many hours to complete. Applicants can be expected to list longterm sexual partners, drinking habits, details of any drug use and tastes in pornography.
Whitehall departments soon raised concerns about delays in getting staff approved, with some recruits who needed the more thorough developed vetting (DV) temporarily cleared to work on less sensitive projects.
The Foreign Office said the new agency had “significantly delayed vetting” across departments, as the home office claimed the delays were “a key risk to its ability to increase the number of Border Force staff to work on projects relating to Brexit and the UK border”.
In an effort to clear the backlog of DV cases – which usually take three face-to-face meetings and can last several hours – some interviews can now be conducted by telephone, auditors disclosed.
UKSV did not meet all its goals for clearing CTC and SC cases within its target timeframe until January, a year after being created, the report said.
One of the key problems with UKSV followed the implementation of an IT upgrade, the report said. At one point nearly 8,500 files containing personal data were unreadable and 93% of automated checks against the police national computer failed. Officials had to re-process failed checks manually, auditors found.
A government spokesperson said national security had not been compromised by the new vetting service.
“We have already taken steps to address short-term challenges in its introduction, and the NAO has acknowledged timescales are improving and targets are being met.
“We will continue efforts to ensure the successful delivery of the reformed service, prioritising the vetting of critical roles as necessary,” she said.
