§ Mr. HunterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken by the Home Office forensic science service to improve the quality of scientific evidence provided by the service in criminal cases.
§ Mr. HurdSubstantial improvements have been made. Since 1979, there have been formal arrangements to monitor the quality of work in the Home Office forensic science service. These are based on a regular series of open and "blind" trials, organised both within each laboratory, and centrally by the service's research establishment. They cover the problems normally found in case work in a range of disciplines. The results of such trials are thoroughly reviewed, with a view to further improvements in case work procedures; in 1986 a general review of the quality assurance arrangements concluded that they were effective and economical.
These are supplemented, first, by regular inspections of the major Departments of each laboratory by senior officers from other laboratories in the service, and, secondly, by a scientific advisory group, chaired by Sir Ronald Mason FRS, and comprising eminent scientists, which was established in 1986, to advise the service on the development of its scientific standards.
Linked to the efforts to improve the quality of the service's work is an extensive training programme at the service's training unit at Birmingham. This provides an induction course for all newly appointed scientific staff; courses on specific techniques and instruments; and a course to prepare staff to give evidence in court. In 1987, 214 staff received training at the unit, varying from a day to a week.