Report Summary
This report provides members of the Forensic Services Committee with an overview of the Drug Driving Update.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Forensic Services Committee - 7 August 2025
Date : 07 August 2025
Location : Online
Outsourcing
At the time of writing, Forensic Services continue to be supported by a single [external] supplier. Scheduled outsourcing is utilised to support staff abstraction during development work planned throughout the year and is managed through an existing budget allocation. Increases in demand over the forecasted levels require additional outsourcing (or a reduction in development activity) when internal capacity requires augmented. This additional outsourcing comes at a financial cost, not forecast within the annual budget.
Reliance on a single provider and the associated unpredictable demand across Scotland, and the rest of the UK, has resulted in this being identified as a risk. To support mitigating the risk, communication and engagement with the external provider remains regular and consistent to ensure any potential escalation is identified at the earliest opportunity.
In this regard, the most recent engagement with the FS external supplier provides continued assurance in relation to outsourcing requirements up to 100 samples per month. Additional capacity is likely to be available from Q2 2025-26 however, this will require pro-active engagement on a month-to-month basis and is not fully guaranteed.
External supplier engagement remains ongoing with short and medium-term options subject to further discussions and dependant on available budget.
