Although the CRB offers a cheap way for employers providing services to vulnerable groups to check the suitability of new workers (full background checks on potential employees cost just £30) the FSB says some of its members have been left waiting more than eight weeks before receiving a report.

This, it is argued, can place smaller firms at a distinct disadvantage in the employment market because many applicants are unwilling or unable to wait weeks for the relevant checks to come through. Those who have already been assessed by the CRB, meanwhile, can only carry their clearance on to a new employer at that firm’s own risk.

‘We recognise these checks have to be made,’ concedes David Croucher, the FSB’s national crime policy chairman, ‘however, the tangle of red tape and delays that businesses suffer is unacceptable. The CRB are holding people back from taking up jobs, creating huge headaches for employers and – most importantly – depriving vulnerable people of expert care.’