Scottish Labour claims Disclosure Scotland in ‘chaos’ as £100m cost revealed

Scottish Labour has claimed Disclosure Scotland is in “chaos” after figures revealed the amount of cash it has spent on temporary staff over the last 12 years has reached more than £100m.

The party has also uncovered data showing the length of time the executive agency is taking to process criminal record checks for employers and third sector organisations has also gone up over the last eight years.

According to the figures Disclosure Scotland paid around £1.9m to temporary workers in 2012 but by 2018 the total had reached £39.8m with around £16.6m being spent on casual employees in that year alone.

The latest sums show another near £9.2m was paid to agency and contractor staff last year and at least another £7.5m has been handed over this year, taking the combined total over the last 12 years to around £103m.

Meanwhile the average number of days Disclosure Scotland is taking to process criminal record checks has also gone up, according to separate data.

Employers are having to wait several days longer to get results of basic background checks – up to 5.9 days in 2023 from four in 2016 – with average waits for PVG scheme record updates seeing the steepest rise.

Scottish Labour’s spokesperson for children and young people, Martin Whitfield, said: “The SNP’s disastrous mismanagement of Disclosure Scotland has left taxpayers footing a £100m temp bill while waits rise.

“Years of SNP failure has left Disclosure Scotland in chaos, relying on expensive temporary staff to paper over the cracks.

“The safety of our schools and our public services is being put at risk by this turmoil.

“This is costing taxpayers millions of pounds at a time when public finances are stretched to breaking point and leaving workers in limbo while they wait for their applications to be dealt with.

“A well-functioning disclosure system is a matter of public safety – the SNP must hire the staff needed to carry out robust and speedy checks.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “While staffing and recruitment are matters for Disclosure Scotland, as with all executive agencies, the Scottish Government regularly engages with them on these issues to ensure there is no disruption to services.

“In 2025-26 we will continue to ensure Disclosure Scotland is fully funded to meet its statutory commitments.”