Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) membership and (b) terms of reference is for the forensic science reform programme board.

The membership of the Forensic Reform Programme Board, in addition to officials from the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, includes:

Association of Forensic Science Providers

Association of Police and Crime Commissioners

Attorney General’s Office

Bar Council

BlueLight Commercial

Chartered Society of Forensic Scientists

Crown Prosecution Service

First Forensic Forum

Forensics Archive

Forensic Capability Network

Forensic Science Northern Ireland

Forensic Science Regulator

Judicial Office

Law society

National Crime Agency

National Police Chiefs’ Council

Police Digital Service

Scottish Police Authority Forensic Service

University of Lausanne

United Kingdom Accreditation Service

Victims' Commissioner

The Terms of Reference of the Forensic Science Programme Board are as follows:

The Board, which brings together stakeholders from across policing and the criminal justice system, steers and scrutinises reform to ensure that the forensics model that serves England and Wales is working for the whole of the CJS.

The Board oversees completion of the Forensic Reform Programme and ensures that the programme’s interventions deliver the improvements needed. These interventions are intended to strengthen the forensics model and win back the confidence of stakeholders and partners who depend on it, in their service to justice and the public.