A national postal strike will delay placements due to a slowdown in the processing of Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks, according to health and social care recruiters last week. This was further compounded by legislation coming into force which obliges recruiters to notify the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) of any ‘relevant information’ about candidates in ‘regulated activities’ who may pose a risk to children or vulnerable adults. Ian MacDougall, director at healthcare recruiter Castlerock, told Recruiter: “There is going to be slowdown in receiving the CRB disclosures. There is physically no other way of processing them.” Bernie Gough, director at social work and healthcare staffing firm Colbern, says: “We can’t place people without a CRB check. We have to see the original documents.”