§ Mr. HopeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will lay before Parliament the annual report for the Forensic Science Service. [132883]
§ Mr. StrawCopies of the Forensic Science Service's annual report and accounts for 1999–2000 have today been laid before Parliament.
The Forensic Science Service (FSS) met and exceeded its financial target to achieve a three per cent. return on capital employed and maintained accreditation through external bodies. However, it did fail to achieve the stretching efficiency gain target and service delivery targets. This was a challenging year for the FSS—further expanding its work force, absorbing the associated recruitment and training costs and devoting large human resources to the DNA expansion project. It was also the organisation's first year as a Trading Fund. The targets and plans agreed for 1999–2000 were ambitious, and while the FSS failed to achieve targets in two key areas, it demonstrated a significant improvement in both turnaround times and delivery dates met.
The targets for 2000–01 are set out in the table, alongside those for 1999–2000.