News story

DBS launch new strategy and business plan for 2025 to 2028

The Disclosure and Barring Service has launched its new strategy and business plan, detailing the strategic direction of DBS for the next 3 years.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has today launched its new 2025 to 2028 strategy and 2025 to 2026 business plan, setting the organisation鈥檚 strategic direction for the next 3 years.聽

Over the next 3 years, DBS will continue to fulfil its purpose of protecting the public by helping employers make safer recruitment and employment decisions by the processing and issuing of DBS checks, and by barring individuals who pose a risk to vulnerable people.聽

In 2025 to 2028, DBS is committed to:聽

  • continuing to enhance the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of our services聽

  • contributing to lowering the risk of harm to vulnerable groups聽

  • building a more inclusive, transparent and responsive organisation聽

  • enabling individuals to safely enter employment聽

  • protecting the right to rehabilitation聽

The strategy聽

The 2025 to 2028 strategy, co-created with our staff and informed by valuable insights from our partners, details DBS鈥� ambitions to be achieved by 2028.聽聽聽

There are 5 strategic objectives that make up the strategy:聽

  • our products and services聽

  • being visible, trusted, and influential聽

  • delivering through innovative technology聽

  • customer data and insight led聽

  • being people-focused聽

To achieve these aims, we鈥檙e committed to embracing innovation, making data-driven decisions, and maintaining our position at the forefront of safeguarding as a trusted organisation.聽

All of our work continues to be underpinned by our core principles: safeguarding, quality, sustainability, value for money, and diversity and inclusion.聽

The business plan聽

The business plan sets out an ambitious but realistic plan for the next 12 months, and details a number of priorities, including:聽

  • increasing accessibility of services聽聽

  • increase collaboration with external stakeholders聽聽

  • increase in the quality of the police matching algorithm聽

  • identify further opportunities to make better use of the data we have, and new opportunities to seek customer and stakeholder feedback聽

  • continue to improve and invest in our learning and development offering for staff聽

The plan also highlights some of DBS鈥� achievements over the past year, such as a record number, 7.4 million, DBS certificates being issued in 2023 to 2024, and achieving re-accreditation with the Customer Service Excellence standards.聽

For more information, you can read the full 鈥�2025 to 2028 strategy and 2025 to 2026 business plan鈥痮n the DBS website.

Both documents are available in Welsh and British Sign Language (BSL).

Updates to this page

Published 2 April 2025