Report Summary
This report provides members of the Forensic Services Committee with an overview of the Drug Driving Update.
Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Forensics Services Committee - 4 May 2023
Date : 04 May 2023
Location : online
Further Detail on Report Topic
Demand has consistently been more than twice the original estimated level - which was what the Forensic Services Toxicology laboratory was set up to support. Forensic Services have been reporting sustained high-levels of demand for drug driving testing to the Forensic Services Committee since 2020. The current level of demand for Section 5A analysis is c.205 cases per month.
As a result of this sustained demand for Section 5A drug driving analysis remains significantly higher than Forensic Services capacity, however the internal caseload has reduced significantly, as a result of an increased level of outsourcing funded by the Scottish Government, in particular.
Staff within the Toxicology team have been working at full capacity since the introduction of the legislation. Measures are in place to monitor staff wellbeing, but there were significant concerns at the continued high demands being placed upon the team. As a result of the actions taken, these high demands are now reducing.
Outsourcing of Section 5A cases has continued since the last update to the Forensic Services Committee.
Additional funding of £325,000 was approved by the Scottish Government in November 2021 to support continued outsourcing.
The impact of this high level of sustained demand reached the point where 447 cases (from October 2019 to date) could not be progressed to prosecution, having reached the current statutory 12-month time limit. No further cases reached the current statutory 12-month time limit due to delays in laboratory testing from September 2022 to date.
As stated above, the position regarding cases that could not be progressed to prosecution has improved significantly, however Forensic Services, Police Scotland and the COPFS are continuing to review the caseload to identify and prioritise further cases to mitigate against further risk of reaching the statutory time limit.
The Scottish Government agreed to fund a further £370,000 for outsourcing for 2022/23, which has further improved the situation.
A new outsourcing contract was implemented in September 2022. This new contract allows outsourcing of Section 4 cases, in addition to Section 5A cases, so offers additional flexibility. This has assisted greatly in mitigating the pressures on the Forensic Services staff from the demand for drug-driving toxicology services in Scotland.
On 13th July 2022 HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Scotland (HMICS) published the Terms of Reference for their Assurance Review with the aim to ‘assess the state, efficiency and effectiveness of the arrangements in relation to the processes which are in place for obtaining, analysing and reporting toxicology samples obtained for Section 4 and Section 5A Road Traffic Act 1988 cases’.
Activities associated with this Assurance Review have been ongoing since that time.
It is anticipated that HMICS will publish the report on their findings around the end of April 2023.
The Forensic Services Operating Model Project makes provision for an increase in capacity for Toxicology services. Forensic Services received approval to commence the recruitment process for the additional Toxicology staff associated with this project, as follows:
An interim Capability Team Manager took up post in February 2023 and is working in conjunction with the Team Manager to provide additional management support.
The four temporary Forensic Analyst posts have been converted to four permanent Forensic Analyst posts and this is being progressed.
The recruitment process for a Senior Forensic Scientist vacancy is being progressed.
This recruitment will increase the internal capacity and align more closely with the current level of demand.
The Scottish Government has agreed to fund up to a further £310,000 for outsourcing in 2023/24, which will further improve the situation by allowing equipment validation, method development and staff training to be completed.
Toxicology staff continue to work tirelessly and remain committed to processing cases in a timely fashion, to meet the requirements of the Criminal Justice System. We continue to work closely with Police Scotland, COPFS and the Scottish Government to manage and mitigate risks and to develop a sustainable, system-wide, solution that can meet future demand and mitigate against cases reaching their statutory time limit.
UKAS visited the Toxicology team in Edinburgh, as planned, for an assessment visit on 27th March 2023. The assessment visit was concluded successfully with accreditation being maintained, subject to the necessary submission of evidence regarding clearance of findings.
The long term sustainable model options paper remains with Scottish Government and a number of clarifications were provided in March 23. Following publication of the HMICS report on Drug Driving the options can be considered in light of the findings of the review to consider strategic direction for the development of this service beyond the end of this financial year.
A more detailed performance update regarding the drug driving service is provided on the following pages.
