Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by David Ruffley (Conservative) on Monday, 19 November 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 21 November 2007. It was answered by Meg Hillier (Labour) on Tuesday, 19 February 2008 on behalf of the Home Office.

Genetics: Databases

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of maintaining the DNA database was in each year of its operation.
Answer

The National DNA Database (NDNAD) was established in 1995, when responsibility for the operational management of the NDNAD rested with the Forensic Science Service (FSS) on behalf of the Police Service. No central records of costs relating to the maintenance of the NDNAD are held prior to 2002, as cost data was incorporated in other costs incurred by the FSS.In December 2005, the FSS was vested as a Government owned company and ownership of the NDNAD transferred from the FSS to the Home Office. On 1 April 2007 the NDNAD transferred from the Home Office to the National Policing Improvement Agency. Costs for the 2007-08 financial year are not yet available.The costs relating to the maintenance of the NDNAD from 2002-07 are given in the following tables. The costs for 2006-07 are higher than for previous years, because of the complete separation of costs from the FSS, and because the increase in the number of forensic suppliers requires additional resources for accreditation and continuous monitoring.

Table 1
£
NDNAD Services costs Supplier Accreditation costs Total
2002-03 774,304 320,507 1,094,811
2003-04 904,385 388,047 1,292,432
2004-05 1,276,823 433,828 1,710,651
2005-06 1,245,151 459,192 1,704,343
Table 2
£
NDNAD Service delivery including delivery of IT development projects Custodian accreditation Total
2006-07 2,041,743 527,677 2,569,420

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
167015; 472 c583-4W
Session
2007-08
Subjects
Databases Genetics
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk