Written question asked by Damian Green (Conservative) on Monday, 24 April 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 26 April 2006. It was answered by Andy Burnham (Labour) on Tuesday, 2 May 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

DNA Database

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make estimates of the number of (a) juveniles, (b) women and (c) members of ethnic minorities who will be registered on the national DNA database by 1 January 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: We currently have no plans to estimate the future composition of the National DNA Database by age, gender or ethnicity. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware from my answer to his earlier question (41099) that forecasts are made of the overall growth rate and total number of people on the Database. Information is currently being collected from police forces on the use made of DNA for crime detection during the financial year April 2005 to March 2006. When the new data are available, the forecast will be reviewed. It is expected this will be in July 2006.

Secondary information