Failure to 'get a grip' on vetting undermining national security, MPs find

11 May 2023 , 23:01

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A scathing report unearths worrying failures in national security vetting (Image: Getty Images/Cultura RF)

Whitehall bosses have failed to "get a grip" on national security vetting, leaving the Government open to dangerous risks, a scathing report warns today.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee raised alarm at Cabinet Office failures, hitting out at its "woeful record" on some vital checks.

It said this has led to increased security risks, with some officials going years without a full review of their clearance.

It also means departments could miss out on best candidates for jobs due to long delays.

The committee found efforts by the UK Security Vetting Service (UKSV) to bring in vital reforms had been blocked.

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Fleur Anderson, Labour’s Shadow Paymaster General, said: "Missed targets, backlogs and underperformance are commonplace under Rishi Sunak ’s Conservatives – but this stinging rebuke from the Public Accounts Committee shows this government’s failure to get a grip is yet again undermining British national security.

Labour's Fleur Anderson said failings are 'undermining British national security' (NurPhoto/PA Images)

“With five different Ministers in charge of the Cabinet Office in just three years, the Tories’ conveyor belt of chaos is hampering this essential function of government. Labour will turn the page on this sticking plaster approach and keep our country safe.”

UKSV carries out thousands of checks every year on government staff, as well as on some private sector industries such as aviation.

But a PAC report said nearly one-third of clearances in the highest level last year took more than 180 days to process - almost double the target.

The committee warned of a failure to modernise and a lack of staff, with full-time levels 23% below requirements in November.

Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier said: “The Cabinet Office appears deaf to the discomfort that staff across Government have with the level of risk being created by its failure to get a grip on our national security vetting services.

"Though the current governance structure actually appears to be a barrier to the necessary change, the Cabinet Office is blocking all UKSV’s valiant attempts at reform.

"UKSV has been understaffed since its inception and the result is desperately uncomfortable compromise choices for existing staff about their essential functions. This is all totally unacceptable.

"We expect the Cabinet Office to set out and immediately get on with productive change in response to this report.”

The Cabinet Office said security vetting is a "key priority" and it was working closely with UKSV to give it the resources to deal with "the surge in demand in the last year".

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