Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when (a) the Forensic Science Regulator, (b) UKAS and (c) the CPS became aware that Randox Testing Services was not complying with Forensic Regulator Guidelines C-133 on duplicate testing in relation to Section 5a offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988.

The Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) is developing FSR-C-133 and has not issued a final version.

The FSR, UKAS and CPS were made aware of Randox Testing Services’ approach to the extraction of drugs from blood for analysis in February 2016. For the entire period of time that RTS provided Section 5A drug driving analysis services to the Criminal Justice System, they were accredited by UKAS to the quality standard set by the FSR and there was nothing in the specification, standards or professional guidance at the time which explicitly precluded their approach to extraction.