Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the amount of time taken by police forces to complete digital advice examinations; and what steps her Department is taking to help reduce those times.

We are aware that the amount of time taken by forces to examine digital devices varies considerably, but that urgent requests are always prioritised.

Chief Constables, and ultimately Police and Crime Commissioners, are currently responsible for forensics procurement and delivery, with some regional coordination. We are exploring the creation of a specialist national capability for police forensics, within the proposed National Centre for Policing, and have recruited a Director of Forensic Services to stabilise and reform forensics in the meantime.