§ Mr. StreeterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce delays by the Forensic Processing Department in Chepstow in the processing of forensic information relating to recent burglaries in Devon and Cornwall. [122615]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeI understand that the main involvement of the Forensic Science Service Chepstow Laboratory in these cases has been DNA analysis. The information was provided within 23 days. More generally, the average turn round time for all work in domestic burglary cases over the last six months was 34 days. This year, the Forensic Science Service aims to improve turn round times by the introduction of a classification system whereby cases identified by the customer as urgent or critical are dealt with ahead of standard case types. Further, over the next six months the number of staff is being increased by 15 per cent. to address the balance between demand and capacity in all case types.