Surrey County Council expects to save up to £300,000 with a new system to conduct criminal records bureau checks.

Completing background checks online instead of on paper means waiting times for results have been cut to just a few days.

Under the previous paper system, it could take up to six weeks for a check to be processed.

The dramatic speeding up of the process means savings were estimated to reach £300,000 over three years.

Each year, Surrey carries out up to 10,000 checks.

Councillor Denise Le Gal said: “It speeds up the whole process for staff and job-seekers alike while saving local taxpayers up to £300,000 and is another great example of the council’s willingness to embrace technology to improve services.”

Surrey is offering its online service to organisations and businesses across the country.

Call Hannah Cursley on 020 8541 7580 or email onlinecrbservice@surreycc.gov.uk for more information.