§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the(a) functions and (b) terms of reference of the Policy Advisory Board for Forensic Pathology are; how, and for how long, the board was appointed; what the membership is and who the officers of the board are; how it is serviced; and how many times it has met in the last year; [41103]
(2) how many pathologists are approved for working with the police and coroners on suspicious deaths; what qualifications are required for a pathologist to be approved; in what circumstances a pathologist may be removed from the approved list; on how many occasions the disciplinary tribunal has met in the past 10 years; and what the results were of its deliberations. [41104]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 18 June 2002]: The Police Advisory Board for Forensic Pathology, advises the Home Secretary on forensic pathology matters with particular reference to the national aspects of forensic pathology services in England and Wales, such as appointment and accreditation, quality assurance, training and Research and Development. The Board was set up by the then Home Secretary in 1990; there was no specified time limit to the Board.
A copy of the Terms of Reference of the Board and a list of the current numbers has been placed in the Library.
Officers of the Board are Anthony Whitehead (chair) who is also the head of Science and Technology Unit (STU) in the Home Office and Trevor Rothwell (Secretary). The Board is served by the two officers and STU. The Board meets annually. It last met in January 2001.
There are currently 48 pathologists on the Home Office Register of Forensic Pathologist approved for working with the police on suspicious deaths.
Before applying to be put on the register pathologists must:
have a medical degreebe a member of the Royal College of Pathologistshave at least six months experience at an approved centre for training.In addition they must also have either
the Diploma in Forensic Pathologists (through the Royal College of Pathologists)orthe Diploma in Medical Jurisprudence (through the Society of Apothecaries).A pathologist not found to be performing appropriately in the first two years of his or her time as a Registrant, can be removed from the Register as the initial approval is time limited. Otherwise pathologists can be removed from the register by invoking the Board's Complaints and Disciplinary Procedures. Suspension or removal from the register is dependent on the outcome of a hearing of a Disciplinary Tribunal.
In the last 10 years a disciplinary tribunal has been convened once. This Tribunal recused itself before the completion of the hearing.