The home office is refusing to confirm or deny reports it plans to outsource some of the work involved in processing applications for criminal records checks to a centre in India, writes Katie Leason.

A range of short-term measures is being considered, which include using external suppliers either domestically or abroad to take on some of the administration involved in the processing.

The Criminal Records Bureau has been plagued by a backlog of applications built up since March. Just 10,000 disclosures have been issued out of around 57,000 received.

A home office spokesperson claimed that performance is improving week on week with around a fifth of disclosures now being issued within 3 weeks.

The CRB has also been accused of breaching the spirit of the Welsh Language Act for not offering application forms in Welsh. Aled Edwards, churches liaison officer for the National Assembly said that the CRB should provide equal provision in both English and Welsh, and has complained to the Welsh Language Board.

More than 140 MPs' signatures have been added to three early day motions which express concern that the cost of carrying out criminal record checks could be passed onto volunteers by umbrella registered bodies. The motion tabled by MP for Wealden, Charles Hendry, urges the government to re-examine the matter and ensure volunteering is "encouraged not penalised".