Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 November 2017 on Toxicology, HCWS265, how many local authorities the Department has identified as having commissioned tests from Trimega.

The department wrote to all local authorities in England asking them to review whether they had commissioned forensic tests from Trimega Laboratories Limited between January 2010 and April 2014. 131 local authorities have confirmed that they used the services of Trimega Laboratories Limited during this period.

It is unlikely that decisions about the welfare of children will have been taken solely on the basis of toxicology test results, as this would only form part of the evidence that local authorities consider when making decisions about vulnerable children. The department does not have oversight of individual decisions made in local authority areas but have asked local authorities to consider whether any additional action is necessary in order to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities.