Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 November 2017, Toxicology, HCWS 265, what the timescales are for reviewing case files to identify where test results were relied on by (a) local authorities when making child protection decisions outside the court process and (b) private employers for the purpose of drug and alcohol testing of their employees; and whether people potentially affected by such cases will be informed that their case files are being reviewed.

Officials have written to all local councils in England to ask them to review whether they commissioned forensic hair strand tests for drug and alcohol use by Trimega Laboratories Limited during the period January 2010 to April 2014, and have requested that they do this by 30 November 2017.

It is unlikely that decisions about the welfare of children will have been taken solely on the basis of toxicology test results. However, we have asked councils to consider whether any action is necessary to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities.

The government has published information for anyone who thinks they have been affected, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forensic-toxicology-tests. Anyone who thinks that they may be affected should contact their local council or seek legal advice from a solicitor or an organisation like Citizens Advice.

With regard to the reviewing of case files involving private employers for the purpose of drug and alcohol testing of their employees, the information in the above hyperlink explains that anyone who believes that they may have been the subject of such tests should contact the party who commissioned the test. They may also wish to consult a legal adviser, their union or professional body, or an organisation like Citizens Advice.