THE chairman of the Lancashire Care Association has slammed the government for raising the price of security checks on staff by 149 per cent.

Ken Nolan, chairman of the association which represents 450 private homes in Lancashire, says the increases in fees for clearance checks, announced earlier this month are "untenable".

And he claimed the fees, along with increases in insurance premiums, may well lead to closures in the private sector.

Now Hyndburn MP Greg Pope has pledged to raise the issue with Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Current fees for Criminal Records Bureau checks are £12, but these will rise to £24 for standard checks and £29 for the enhanced checks required for care homes staff. The bureau is currently working its way through a backlog of checks and Mr Nolan has demanded outstanding checks should be conducted at the old rate.

In a letter to MP Greg Pope Mr Nolan urges the government to rethink its policy and issue interim guidelines.

He said: "The CRB has announced the fee for clearances will rise by 142 per cent and 149 per cent from July 1 - no consultation, just an announcement. Whatever happened to the previous assurances of open government and partnership?

"The requirement to clear all staff who were employed before April 2002 was originally set for April 2003, but this date has slipped and changed several times and is now finally set at June 2004.

"We now face clearances at the new rate when the original dates would have attracted a fee of £12.

"I believe clearances for all staff employed before April 2003 should be processed at the old rate as the CRB's inability to meet demand was their problem not ours."

The CRB has set a deadline of November 30 this year so standard checks on care home staff who were employed before April last year can be completed by June 2004. Staff employed since that date will need the enhanced checks.

Mr Nolan added: "This is a seven-month lead time indicating the CRB is not delivering the sort of service any responsible government should condone, let alone allow them to raise their fees."

Mr Pope said: "I share Mr Nolan's concern. This is a really big increase and I'll take it up with the minister.

The CRB was launched in March last year and faced a huge backlog after Ian Huntley was charged with the murder of Cambridgeshire schoolgirls Jessica Wells and Holly Chapman who had disappeared in July.

Checks on some 450 school staff in Lancashire were delayed as term-time approached.

The CRB announced this month it was aiming to process 90 per cent of enhanced checks within four weeks.

A spokesman said applications for existing staff received before July 1 would be charged at the old rate of £12.