§ Mr. SymsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what quality control tests have been evaluated into DNA testing; and if he will publish the results. [39496]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Home Office Forensic Science Service has carried out quality tests on its analysis of DNA since it was first used in 1987. These are: testing and peer review of new methods before they are introduced, including scientific publication; regular
94Winternal quality assurance trials; and personal competency testing. These are used for internal quality management purposes and are made available to external quality assessors for the purposes of accreditation to International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9000 and United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) standards. Quality assurance trials for suppliers of information to the National DNA database are not published but are similarly made available to external assessors. The results are also presented to learned conferences in tabular form; control tests on an individual casework basis are also made available to the defence on request.