My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Alan Campbell) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to announce the publication of the second annual report of the National DNA Database Ethics Group on 9 September 2009. The group was established on 25 July 2007 to provide Ministers with independent ethical advice on the operation and practice of the National DNA Database (NDNAD).

The annual report makes a number of recommendations around the processes involved in taking DNA samples from children and young people, the retention of samples and public information about the use of DNA. I have asked the National Policing Improvement Agency and the National DNA Strategy Board to let me have their considered comments on the report's recommendations as soon as possible.

The report can be viewed on the website of the independent Forensic Science Regulator and I am arranging for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Alan Campbell) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Christopher Hughes OBE as chair of the National DNA Database Ethics Group. Mr Hughes replaces Professor Peter Hutton, who resigned in March 2009. The ethics group provides Ministers with independent ethical advice on the operation and practice of the National DNA Database (NDNAD).