HC Deb 05 November 1979 vol 973 cc9-10W
Mr. Rooker

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the locations of his Department's forensic science laboratories and the geographical areas they cover.

Mr. Whitelaw

There are six Home Office forensic science laboratories located at Aldermaston, Birmingham, Chepstow, Chorley, Nottingham and Wetherby which serve those police forces in England and Wales outside the catchment area of the Metropolitan Police laboratory. In addition, there is a Home Office central research establishment at Aldermaston which provides specialised services for all laboratories. The table below shows the police force areas served by each laboratory.

Laboratory and Catchment Area Aldermaston: Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Thames Valley. Birmingham: West Mercia, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire. Chepstow: Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, South Wales. Chorley: North Wales, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cumbria. Nottingham: Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk. Wetherby: Northumbria, Durham, Cleveland, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Humberside.