Jessica O'ConnorThe Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has underlined its role in supporting safer and more secure recruitment, as its chief executive attended the parliamentary launch of the UK’s first National Hiring Strategy and a new Hiring Fraud Guide.
DBS chief executive Jeff James represented the organisation at the November event, which brought together ministers, parliamentarians and sector leaders to highlight the importance of trustworthy and efficient hiring practices across the labour market.
The launch was led by the Better Hiring Institute and supported by senior figures from government and opposition.
The National Hiring Strategy aims to create a more transparent and reliable recruitment system, reducing risks for employers while improving outcomes for workers and jobseekers.
DBS said the strategy closely aligns with its mission, given the central role criminal record checks play in safer recruitment, particularly in roles involving children and vulnerable adults.
Alongside the strategy, the new Hiring Fraud Guide addresses the growing challenge of recruitment fraud, which can undermine confidence in the labour market and pose safeguarding risks when individuals misrepresent their background or qualifications.
DBS processes millions of checks each year, supporting employers to make informed hiring decisions and helping to protect vulnerable people. The organisation said the strategy reinforces the importance of robust pre-employment screening as part of a wider system of fair and safe recruitment.
Viscount Camrose, Shadow Minister for AI, said: “There could be no greater single boost to productivity than fixing hiring. A trusted and efficient recruitment marketplace would get the right people into the right jobs – and indeed create more of them.
“Britain should be leaders in hiring and that is the ambition for the first National Hiring Strategy and crucial to its success is collaborative working across industry leaders, government, and important organisations like the DBS.”
Keith Rosser, chair of the Better Hiring Institute, said the strategy was designed to tackle inefficiencies that cost the UK economy billions each year and highlighted the role of organisations such as DBS in making hiring “faster, fairer and safer”.
