diff --git a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.csproj b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.csproj
index 7d101d8d..bebf6d17 100644
--- a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.csproj
+++ b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.csproj
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
     <PackageReference Include="MediatR.Contracts" Version="2.0.1" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting" Version="8.0.1" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting.Abstractions" Version="8.0.1" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Options.DataAnnotations" Version="8.0.0" />
     <PackageReference Include="System.Text.Json" Version="8.0.5" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
diff --git a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
index bec34b36..168914ff 100644
--- a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
@@ -19,11 +19,16 @@ public static IServiceCollection AddBackgroundService(
             // If no configuration delegate is provided, use defaults
             if (configureOptions != null)
             {
-                services.Configure(configureOptions);
+                services.AddOptions<BackgroundServiceOptions>()
+                    .Configure(configureOptions)
+                    .ValidateDataAnnotations()
+                    .ValidateOnStart();
             }
             else
             {
-                services.Configure<BackgroundServiceOptions>(_ => { });
+                services.AddOptions<BackgroundServiceOptions>()
+                    .Configure(_ => { })
+                    .ValidateOnStart();
             }
 
             services.AddSingleton<IBackgroundServiceFactory, BackgroundServiceFactory>();
diff --git a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/Services/BackgroundServiceFactory.cs b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/Services/BackgroundServiceFactory.cs
index 3613a162..0f3e2e0b 100644
--- a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/Services/BackgroundServiceFactory.cs
+++ b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing/Services/BackgroundServiceFactory.cs
@@ -2,22 +2,29 @@
 using MediatR;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using System.Collections.Concurrent;
-using System.Diagnostics;
 using DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.Configurations;
 
 namespace DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.Services
 {
-    public class BackgroundServiceFactory(IMediator mediator, IOptions<BackgroundServiceOptions> options) : BackgroundService, IBackgroundServiceFactory
+    public class BackgroundServiceFactory(
+        IMediator mediator,
+        IOptions<BackgroundServiceOptions> options,
+        ILogger<BackgroundServiceFactory> logger) : BackgroundService, IBackgroundServiceFactory
     {
         private readonly IMediator _mediator = mediator ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(mediator));
 
+        private readonly ILogger<BackgroundServiceFactory> _logger = logger ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(logger));
+
         private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<Type, ConcurrentQueue<Func<CancellationToken, Task>>> _taskQueues = new();
 
         private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<Type, SemaphoreSlim> _semaphores = new();
 
         private CancellationToken _serviceStoppingToken = CancellationToken.None;
 
+        private readonly TaskCompletionSource _tokenInitialisedTcs = new(TaskCreationOptions.RunContinuationsAsynchronously);
+
         /// <inheritdoc />
         public Task<TResult> EnqueueTask<TResult, TEvent>(
             Func<CancellationToken, Task<TResult>> taskFunc,
@@ -79,24 +86,30 @@ public Task<TResult> EnqueueTask<TResult, TEvent>(
                 }
             });
 
-            _ = StartProcessingQueue(taskType);
+            var processingTask = StartProcessingQueue(taskType);
+            _ = processingTask.ContinueWith(t =>
+            {
+                if (t.Exception != null)
+                {
+                    _logger.LogError(t.Exception, "Error occurred while processing background queue for type {TaskType}", taskType);
+                }
+            }, TaskContinuationOptions.OnlyOnFaulted);
             return tcs.Task;
         }
 
         private async Task StartProcessingQueue(Type taskType)
         {
-            Console.WriteLine("StartProcessingQueue triggered");
+            _logger.LogDebug("StartProcessingQueue triggered for {TaskType}", taskType);
 
             var queue = _taskQueues[taskType];
             var semaphore = _semaphores[taskType];
 
-            while (options.Value.UseGlobalStoppingToken && _serviceStoppingToken == CancellationToken.None)
+            if (options.Value.UseGlobalStoppingToken)
             {
-                Console.WriteLine("Waiting for ExecuteAsync to initialize _serviceStoppingToken...");
-                await Task.Delay(100);
+                await _tokenInitialisedTcs.Task.ConfigureAwait(false);
             }
 
-            Console.WriteLine($"_serviceStoppingToken IsCancellationRequested: {_serviceStoppingToken.IsCancellationRequested}");
+            _logger.LogDebug("_serviceStoppingToken IsCancellationRequested: {IsCancellationRequested}", _serviceStoppingToken.IsCancellationRequested);
 
             await semaphore.WaitAsync(CancellationToken.None).ConfigureAwait(false);
 
@@ -106,7 +119,7 @@ private async Task StartProcessingQueue(Type taskType)
                 {
                     var token = options.Value.UseGlobalStoppingToken ? _serviceStoppingToken : CancellationToken.None;
 
-                    Console.WriteLine($"Processing task with token IsCancellationRequested: {token.IsCancellationRequested}");
+                    _logger.LogDebug("Processing task with token IsCancellationRequested: {IsCancellationRequested}", token.IsCancellationRequested);
                     await taskToProcess(token).ConfigureAwait(false);
                 }
             }
@@ -119,32 +132,33 @@ private async Task StartProcessingQueue(Type taskType)
 
         protected override async Task ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken stoppingToken)
         {
-            Debug.WriteLine("ExecuteAsync started");
+            _logger.LogDebug("ExecuteAsync started");
 
             if (options.Value.UseGlobalStoppingToken)
             {
                 _serviceStoppingToken = stoppingToken;
-                Debug.WriteLine("_serviceStoppingToken assigned");
+                _tokenInitialisedTcs.TrySetResult();
+                _logger.LogDebug("_serviceStoppingToken assigned");
             }
 
             while (!stoppingToken.IsCancellationRequested)
             {
-                Debug.WriteLine("ExecuteAsync loop running...");
+                _logger.LogDebug("ExecuteAsync loop running...");
                 await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1), stoppingToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
             }
 
-            Debug.WriteLine("ExecuteAsync detected cancellation.");
+            _logger.LogDebug("ExecuteAsync detected cancellation.");
         }
 
         public override async Task StartAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
         {
-            Debug.WriteLine("Background service is starting...");
+            _logger.LogDebug("Background service is starting...");
 
             var executeTask = base.StartAsync(cancellationToken);
 
             await Task.Delay(500);
 
-            Debug.WriteLine("Background service started, ExecuteAsync is now running.");
+            _logger.LogDebug("Background service started, ExecuteAsync is now running.");
 
             await executeTask;
         }
diff --git a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching.csproj b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching.csproj
index 1b2ae5f3..56352fc7 100644
--- a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching.csproj
+++ b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching.csproj
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions" Version="8.0.1" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Options" Version="8.0.2" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Options.ConfigurationExtensions" Version="8.0.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Options.DataAnnotations" Version="8.0.0" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <ItemGroup>
diff --git a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
index 7bf7eb48..2f39a49e 100644
--- a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Caching/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
@@ -10,7 +10,10 @@ public static class ServiceCollectionExtensions
         public static IServiceCollection AddServiceCaching(
             this IServiceCollection services, IConfiguration config)
         {
-            services.Configure<CacheSettings>(config.GetSection("CacheSettings"));
+            services.AddOptions<CacheSettings>()
+                .Bind(config.GetSection("CacheSettings"))
+                .ValidateDataAnnotations()
+                .ValidateOnStart();
             services.AddSingleton<ICacheService<IMemoryCacheType>, MemoryCacheService>();
 
             return services;
diff --git a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Security/DfE.CoreLibs.Security.csproj b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Security/DfE.CoreLibs.Security.csproj
index 24404a23..ca604580 100644
--- a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Security/DfE.CoreLibs.Security.csproj
+++ b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Security/DfE.CoreLibs.Security.csproj
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 		<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authorization" Version="8.0.11" />
 		<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Abstractions" Version="8.0.2" />
 		<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Identity.Web" Version="3.8.2" />
+		<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Options.DataAnnotations" Version="8.0.0" />
 	</ItemGroup>
 
 	<ItemGroup>
diff --git a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Security/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Security/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
index ca27db80..42c75ff9 100644
--- a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Security/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Security/ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs
@@ -20,7 +20,10 @@ public static class ServiceCollectionExtensions
         /// <returns>The updated <see cref="IServiceCollection"/>.</returns>
         public static IServiceCollection AddUserTokenService(this IServiceCollection services, IConfiguration configuration)
         {
-            services.Configure<TokenSettings>(configuration.GetSection("Authorization:TokenSettings"));
+            services.AddOptions<TokenSettings>()
+                .Bind(configuration.GetSection("Authorization:TokenSettings"))
+                .ValidateDataAnnotations()
+                .ValidateOnStart();
             services.AddScoped<IUserTokenService, UserTokenService>();
             services.AddHttpContextAccessor();
             return services;
@@ -34,7 +37,10 @@ public static IServiceCollection AddUserTokenService(this IServiceCollection ser
         /// <returns>The updated <see cref="IServiceCollection"/>.</returns>
         public static IServiceCollection AddApiOboTokenService(this IServiceCollection services, IConfiguration configuration)
         {
-            services.Configure<TokenSettings>(configuration.GetSection("Authorization:TokenSettings"));
+            services.AddOptions<TokenSettings>()
+                .Bind(configuration.GetSection("Authorization:TokenSettings"))
+                .ValidateDataAnnotations()
+                .ValidateOnStart();
             services.AddScoped<IApiOboTokenService, ApiOboTokenService>();
             services.AddHttpContextAccessor();
             return services;
@@ -56,7 +62,13 @@ public static IServiceCollection AddApiOboTokenService(this IServiceCollection s
         /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException">Thrown when the TokenSettings section is missing in configuration.</exception>
         public static IServiceCollection AddCustomJwtAuthentication(this IServiceCollection services, IConfiguration configuration, string authenticationScheme, AuthenticationBuilder authenticationBuilder, JwtBearerEvents? jwtBearerEvents = null)
         {
-            var tokenSettings = configuration.GetSection("Authorization:TokenSettings").Get<TokenSettings>();
+            var tokenSettingsSection = configuration.GetSection("Authorization:TokenSettings");
+            services.AddOptions<TokenSettings>()
+                .Bind(tokenSettingsSection)
+                .ValidateDataAnnotations()
+                .ValidateOnStart();
+
+            var tokenSettings = tokenSettingsSection.Get<TokenSettings>();
 
             if (tokenSettings == null)
             {
diff --git a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Utilities/Extensions/StringExtensions.cs b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Utilities/Extensions/StringExtensions.cs
index 14e052c4..cfb0559b 100644
--- a/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Utilities/Extensions/StringExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/DfE.CoreLibs.Utilities/Extensions/StringExtensions.cs
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ public static string SplitPascalCase<T>(this T source)
         return source == null
             ? string.Empty
             : Regex.Replace(source.ToString() ?? string.Empty, "[A-Z]", " $0", RegexOptions.None,
-                TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1)).Trim();
+                TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5)).Trim();
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ public static string ToFirstUpper(this string input)
     /// <returns>A string.</returns>
     public static string ToHyphenated(this string str)
     {
-        var whitespaceRegex = new Regex(@"\s+", RegexOptions.None, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1));
+        var whitespaceRegex = new Regex(@"\s+", RegexOptions.None, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
         return whitespaceRegex.Replace(str, "-");
     }
 
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ public static string ToHyphenated(this string str)
     /// <returns>A string.</returns>
     public static string RemoveNonAlphanumericOrWhiteSpace(this string str)
     {
-        var notAlphanumericWhiteSpaceOrHyphen = new Regex(@"[^\w\s-]", RegexOptions.None, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1));
+        var notAlphanumericWhiteSpaceOrHyphen = new Regex(@"[^\w\s-]", RegexOptions.None, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
         return notAlphanumericWhiteSpaceOrHyphen.Replace(str, string.Empty);
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/Tests/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.Tests/Services/BackgroundServiceFactoryTests.cs b/src/Tests/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.Tests/Services/BackgroundServiceFactoryTests.cs
index 6c994e1a..950ddfac 100644
--- a/src/Tests/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.Tests/Services/BackgroundServiceFactoryTests.cs
+++ b/src/Tests/DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.Tests/Services/BackgroundServiceFactoryTests.cs
@@ -5,12 +5,14 @@
 using MediatR;
 using NSubstitute;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 
 namespace DfE.CoreLibs.AsyncProcessing.Tests.Services
 {
     public class BackgroundServiceFactoryTests : IDisposable
     {
         private readonly IMediator _mediator;
+        private readonly ILogger<BackgroundServiceFactory> _logger;
         private readonly BackgroundServiceFactory _factoryNoGlobalToken;
         private readonly BackgroundServiceFactory _factoryWithGlobalToken;
 
@@ -20,6 +22,7 @@ public class BackgroundServiceFactoryTests : IDisposable
         public BackgroundServiceFactoryTests()
         {
             _mediator = Substitute.For<IMediator>();
+            _logger = Substitute.For<ILogger<BackgroundServiceFactory>>();
 
             _cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
 
@@ -33,8 +36,8 @@ public BackgroundServiceFactoryTests()
                 UseGlobalStoppingToken = true
             });
 
-            _factoryNoGlobalToken = new BackgroundServiceFactory(_mediator, optionsNoGlobalToken);
-            _factoryWithGlobalToken = new BackgroundServiceFactory(_mediator, optionsGlobalToken);
+            _factoryNoGlobalToken = new BackgroundServiceFactory(_mediator, optionsNoGlobalToken, _logger);
+            _factoryWithGlobalToken = new BackgroundServiceFactory(_mediator, optionsGlobalToken, _logger);
         }
 
         public void Dispose()
@@ -391,5 +394,54 @@ public async Task Task_ShouldCompleteSuccessfully_IfNoTokenIsCanceled()
             Assert.True(result);
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        public async Task Task_ShouldNotProcessUntilServiceStarted_WhenUseGlobalStoppingToken()
+        {
+            var processed = false;
+
+            _factoryWithGlobalToken.EnqueueTask<bool, IBackgroundServiceEvent>(token =>
+            {
+                processed = true;
+                return Task.FromResult(true);
+            }, null);
+
+            await Task.Delay(200);
+
+            Assert.False(processed, "Task should not execute before StartAsync assigns the global token.");
+
+            var runTask = _factoryWithGlobalToken.StartAsync(_cts.Token);
+
+            await Task.Delay(200);
+
+            _cts.Cancel();
+            await runTask;
+
+            Assert.True(processed, "Task should execute after the service starts and global token is assigned.");
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public async Task EnqueueTask_ShouldLogError_WhenTaskThrows()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            _factoryNoGlobalToken.EnqueueTask<int, IBackgroundServiceEvent>(token => throw new InvalidOperationException("boom"));
+
+            var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
+            var runTask = _factoryNoGlobalToken.StartAsync(cts.Token);
+
+            await Task.Delay(200);
+            cts.Cancel();
+            await runTask;
+
+            // Assert
+            _logger.Received(1).Log(
+                LogLevel.Error,
+                Arg.Any<EventId>(),
+                Arg.Is<object>(v => v.ToString()!.Contains("Error occurred while processing background queue")),
+                Arg.Is<AggregateException>(ex =>
+                    ex.InnerException.Message == "boom"),
+                Arg.Any<Func<object, Exception?, string>>());
+        }
+
+
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file