Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of the 23 January 2019 to Question 208340 on Forensic Science: Misconduct, what guidance his Department has provided to local authorities on how to make individuals aware of the right of people to apply for a C650 Application notice to vary or set aside an order in relation to children as a result of the manipulation of forensic tests; and what information he holds on whether any local authorities have written to any such individuals.

The Department for Education (DfE) wrote to all local authorities on 17 November 2017, informing them that a process for asking the court to vary or discharge an order would be established for individuals who believed that the outcome of their case was materially affected by a potentially unreliable test. In further correspondence of 17 February 2018, the DfE gave local authorities further information about how to access the C650 court process online and how to support individuals that may approach them for help in this matter.

The information on whether any local authorities have written to any such individuals is not held centrally.