The word ‘vetting’ simply means “to carefully examine” The process you are about to undertake involves a combination of background checks and information gathering.  It allows us to understand your behaviour in a variety of circumstances, enabling us to make an objective risk assessment as to whether holding clearance is suitable. In undertaking these checks and gathering information from other sources this provides us with better insight into any risks and can allow us to mitigate against those risks or any potential conflicts of interest. For more information visit Vetting Explained on gov.uk