Forensic Science Service

Written evidence submitted by Alan Whittle (FSS 97)

I work in the Contracts Management Team for Forensic Procurement for the West Coast Consortium of Police Forces, specifically representing the South West and South Wales Police Services.  In the course of my employment I have been following closely the work of the Select Committee you Chair and am concerned that some of the oral evidence given to the Committee may be inaccurate.

It was stated by representatives from the Forensic Science service that spend on externally procured forensic services to the police in England and Wales has shrunk from £170 million to £110 million within the current year.  A representative of ACPO stated that he felt that the reduction in spend represented the likely position for the forthcoming year.  Neither representative offered actual figures from validated sources at the time they gave their oral evidence to the Committee.  The Forensic Services Manager for the Metropolitan Police stated unequivocally that the external spend on forensic services for London was unchanged in the current year, compared with the previous year.

These pieces of evidence seem contradictory.

Actual figures for the forces which I represent show only a slight downward trend in case submission rates and average case costs over the last two years for which we have data.

In paragraph 26 of the written evidence to the Committee, Minister of State James Brokenshire MP stated:

        "The forensics market has drastically shrunk in recent years, from around £170m in 2009 towards a projected figure of around £110m by 2015".

I am sure it has not avoided your notice that the spend figures given by Mr Brokenshire and much of the oral evidence are the same, although Mr Brokenshire’s timescales vary considerably from those giving evidence.  Is there the possibility that the source material from which Mr Brokenshire obtained his data has been misinterpreted by those offering evidence to the Committee?

Alan Whittle

Forensic Contracts Management Team

Avon and Somerset Police Headquarters

30 March 2011