Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115018 on Randox Testing Services and Trimega, whether it is a legal requirement for accreditation to be granted in order to supply forensic services.

No. In the criminal justice jurisdiction, the Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) determines the standards and timeframes for providers of forensic services to reach accreditation. The Government is committed to giving the FSR statutory powers as soon as Parliamentary time allows. At that point the FSR will be able to prohibit providers from submitting evidence to the criminal justice system if they do not hold accreditation.

In family proceedings, there is no legal requirement currently for such tests to meet any specific scientific testing standard. The court will consider the veracity of that evidence as for any other expert evidence.