Driving Under Influence: Screening

Mr. Burrowes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether roadside drug-screening devices will be available for use by police forces within the next three years.

Mr. Coaker
We hope to publish the Guide to Type Approval of Drug Testing Devices by September 2007. The availability of devices will then depend largely on how quickly manufacturers prepare devices in accordance with the specification given and submit them for approval, how they perform in the necessary operational and laboratory tests and how soon after approval the manufacturers make them commercially available.

Mr. Burrowes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her estimate is of the timescale for type-approval of roadside drug-screening devices.

Mr. Coaker
Following detailed and extensive work on the preparation of a suitable device specification, we hope to publish a Guide to the Type Approval of Drug Screening Devices by September 2007. It will then be for manufacturers to prepare devices in accordance with that specification and submit them for type approval. Progress will then depend on how well the devices perform in the necessary operational and laboratory tests and how quickly and appropriately manufacturers respond to any problems or queries that arise, if there are no difficulties, a typical timescale for the type approval process might be around six months.

Mr. Burrowes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in type-approving roadside drug-screening devices.

Mr. Coaker
The Forensic Science Service and Home Office Scientific Development Branch, with outside experts, have been developing a specification for a device. Following extensive consultation, we hope to publish a Guide to the Type Approval of Drug Screening devices by September 2007. It will then be for manufacturers to prepare devices in accordance with the specification and submit them to the type approval process.