Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to the answer of the 23 January 2018 to Question 123692, on Randox Testing Services, how long FSR-C-133 has been in development; whether FSR-C-133 has been issued to any provider; and whether any provider has been following guidance under FSR-C-133.

As set out in response to PQs 123692 and 123704, for the entire period of time that Randox Testing Services (RTS) provided s.5A drug driving analysis services to the criminal justice system, it was accredited by United Kingdom Accreditation Service to ISO 17025, the quality standard set by the Forensic Science Regulator (FSR), including specific accreditation for “the detection and quantification of drugs in relation to s.5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (as amended) and the Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (England and Wales) Regulations 2014”. FSR–C–133 has been in development for around two years and the FSR has not issued a final version.

The latest version of the FSR’s Codes of Practice, published in October 2017, now include the requirement to pay due regard to the United Kingdom and Ireland Association of Forensic Toxicologists (UKIAFT) guidelines, which recommend the use of duplicate extraction.