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1685224

	registered interest
	date	25/01/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the standard of forensic science available to police officers on prosecution rates.
	tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
	uin	901313
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office has made no direct assessment of its own, but we have worked with the National Police Chief’s Council and the Forensic Science Regulator to monitor the accreditation rates of forensic science providers.</p><p>The government also put the Forensic Science Regulator on a statutory footing through the Forensic Science Regulator Act (2021) and he has the necessary powers to enforce quality standards.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 01/02/2024 12:11:23 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1665573

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of capacity in UKAS accredited forensic science police laboratories; and whether there is a backlog in cases as of 17 October 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	203035
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office does not hold data on capacity at police laboratories and the deployment of resources on forensic science activities is for individual forces and Police and Crime Commissioners to determine. However, the Forensics Reform Programme Board has oversight of strategic capacity issues. Through this Board we have assessed that there are capacity shortfalls in some areas of forensics, including digital.</p><p>The Home Office has invested £4.33m in 2022/23 and £3.2m for 2023/24 to the police-led Forensic Capability Network which provides ongoing support to over 4,000 forensics professionals by coordinating a wide range of national activities. BlueLight Commercial works with the National Police Chief’s Council and the Forensics Capability Network to manages forensic science contracts and other commercial functions in England and Wales.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 25/10/2023 11:20:18 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1663362

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) membership and (b) terms of reference is for the forensic science reform programme board.
	tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
	uin	201216
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2023 answer text <p>The membership of the Forensic Reform Programme Board, in addition to officials from the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, includes:</p><p>Association of Forensic Science Providers</p><p>Association of Police and Crime Commissioners</p><p>Attorney General’s Office</p><p>Bar Council</p><p>BlueLight Commercial</p><p>Chartered Society of Forensic Scientists</p><p>Crown Prosecution Service</p><p>First Forensic Forum</p><p>Forensics Archive</p><p>Forensic Capability Network</p><p>Forensic Science Northern Ireland</p><p>Forensic Science Regulator</p><p>Judicial Office</p><p>Law society</p><p>National Crime Agency</p><p>National Police Chiefs’ Council</p><p>Police Digital Service</p><p>Scottish Police Authority Forensic Service</p><p>University of Lausanne</p><p>United Kingdom Accreditation Service</p><p>Victims' Commissioner</p><p>The Terms of Reference of the Forensic Science Programme Board are as follows:</p><p>The Board, which brings together stakeholders from across policing and the criminal justice system, steers and scrutinises reform to ensure that the forensics model that serves England and Wales is working for the whole of the CJS.</p><p>The Board oversees completion of the Forensic Reform Programme and ensures that the programme’s interventions deliver the improvements needed. These interventions are intended to strengthen the forensics model and win back the confidence of stakeholders and partners who depend on it, in their service to justice and the public.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 23/10/2023 14:25:52 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1660412

	registered interest
	date	13/09/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds data on the total number of streamlined forensic reports produced since they were introduced.
	tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
	uin	199280
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office has not conducted any such impact assessment and does not hold this data.</p><p>The Home Office funded Forensic Capability Network (FCN) manages and oversees the Streamlined Forensic Reporting (SFR) process on behalf of policing and the criminal justice system. The FCN last published guidance on SFR in January 2023, which can be read here:</p><p><a href="https://www.fcn.police.uk/news/2023-01/streamlined-forensic-reporting-sfr-update-winter-2023" target="_blank">https://www.fcn.police.uk/news/2023-01/streamlined-forensic-reporting-sfr-update-winter-2023</a></p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 199279 question first answered 20/09/2023 11:47:27 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1659297

	registered interest
	date	08/09/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the transforming forensics programme in strengthening forensic services.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	198473
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office has funded multiple programmes to strengthen forensic services. The programmes all undergo monthly assurance. The Transforming Forensics Programme, which concluded in March this year, has:</p><ul><li>Developed an end-to-end solution for the digitisation of fingerprinting, which will help forces to identify criminals more quickly</li><li>Supported the rollout of a suite of technological solutions helping forces to support victims of rape more effectively</li><li>Set up the Forensic Capability Network which provides ongoing support to over 4,000 forensics professionals by coordinating a wide range of national activities</li></ul> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 13/09/2023 09:34:10 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1605845

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of forensic scientific investigations (a) undertaken in-house by police forces and (b) outsourced to specialist laboratories in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	170689
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office does not hold information centrally on the number of forensic scientific investigations and whether such investigations were undertaken in-house by police forces or outsourced to specialist laboratories.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 27/03/2023 16:26:01 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1600154

	registered interest
	date	28/02/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to police and forensic nurses regarding the use of Alternative Light Sources to detect bruising on dark skin; and what steps they are taking to support the use of this process.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Helic
	uin	HL5987
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office has not issued any official guidance.</p><p>The identification and interpretation of bruising is medical opinion and well established (see for example <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2F22041123%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CHOParliamentaryQuestions%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C3e57616bd53b42f5e23008db2484b8b6%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638143924664062871%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=6qefqaFmEOLwSA2qNdGfeHfFRxSsrOhs%2BbiOVkL4KzU%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Assessment of bruise age on dark-skinned individuals using tristimulus colorimetry - PubMed (nih.gov)</a>) in terms of amount of force, type of impact and longevity. Darker skin makes it more difficult but not impossible to examine. Various light sources and other means can be used to reveal or enhance the information which is a branch of forensic photography.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 14/03/2023 17:55:11 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	4331 label Biography information for Baroness Helic

1362441

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what forensic services (1) input, and (2) output, data are measured systematically.
	tabling member printed	Lord Fox
	uin	HL3281
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text <p>The measurement of forensic services for operational performance purposes is undertaken by the NPCC rather than the Home Office.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 04/11/2021 16:05:51 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	4322 label Biography information for Lord Fox

1283979

	registered interest
	date	04/02/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what metrics have been developed to illustrate the effectiveness of forensic science on the number of successful (a) convictions and (b) prosecutions.
	tabling member constituency	Enfield, Southgate
	tabling member printed	Bambos Charalambous
	uin	149313
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office is leading on a project that aims to measure the impact of forensic science on the CJS. We are currently working with several police forces and academic institutions in England and Wales to test the approach through a series of small-scale studies.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 09/02/2021 12:38:41 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4610 label Biography information for Bambos Charalambous

1283980

	registered interest
	date	04/02/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Forensic Science
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are (a) accredited and practising and (b) practising and not accredited in forensic science as at 4 February 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Enfield, Southgate
	tabling member printed	Bambos Charalambous
	uin	149314
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2021 answer text <p>Information on accredited organisations can be found on the website of the UK Accreditation Service: <a href="https://www.ukas.com/find-an-organisation/?q=forensic" target="_blank">https://www.ukas.com/find-an-organisation/?q=forensic</a></p><p>There is no register of forensic science organisations in the UK, which means that it is difficult to estimate how many unaccredited and practicing forensic science providers exist. However, police forces should not use providers who do not have the appropriate UKAS accreditation.</p><p>By supporting legislation to give the Forensic Science Regulator statutory powers, we will make it possible for the Regulator to investigate and take action against forensic science providers who do not meet the necessary quality standards.</p><p>In addition, we have supported the creation of the Forensics Capability Network (FCN) as part of an £28.6m investment in forensic capability. The FCN is leading improvement in quality standards and accreditation attainment through a number of workstreams.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 09/02/2021 11:10:59 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4610 label Biography information for Bambos Charalambous