Shake-up ahead for police record checks

Home secretary David Blunkett has unveiled a package of measures designed to improve the performance of the Criminal Records Bureau, which is responsible for police checks on childcare workers. The proposed improvements follow an independent review into the operation of the CRB announced by Mr Blunkett last September. The CRB, launched in March 2002, ran up a huge backlog of applications over the first six months of its operation as it struggled to keep pace with demand.