§ Sir John WheelerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce the results of his consideration of the report of the working party on forensic pathology in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI have now carefully considered the report of the working party which had been examining the provision of forensic pathology services to police forces and coroners in England and Wales together with the 669W comments which I have received on it from 23 interested individuals and representative bodies. Without exception, those consulted have endorsed the report's principal findings and recommendations, particularly in relation to funding, accreditation, training and research, and have urged me to implement these urgently in order to reverse the recent decline of the service and ensure an adequate supply of forensic specialists in the future.
The main proposal of the report is that the supply of forensic pathology services should be regulated through the market—that is, the main users of these services, police forces, should contract with the suppliers, the pathologists, for the services they need at prices and on conditions to be agreed between them. The role of the Home Office would be to maintain the high quality of the service through new arrangements for accreditation, training and research.
I have decided to accept the working party's proposals and to introduce the new arrangements straight away, including the establishment of a policy advisory board to oversee the development of this vital part of our criminal justice system.