Services provided by medical laboratories

Tender description

A fundamental principle of the Child Maintenance Group (CMG) is to provide services that support separated families by assisting with the payment of maintenance between parents for their children. The Department uses DNA matching to confirm parentage where this has been questioned. During the life-cycle of the Child Maintenance application a Non Resident Parent/Paying Parent can dispute that they are the parent of a child named on an application and can chose to proceed with a DNA test through CMG's accredited testing provider or to arrange their own private DNA test with a Ministry of Justice accredited testing provider. Results from DNA testing enable CMG to confirm parentage and progress maintenance applications, securing payments for children from separated families. The estimated volumes of referrals for DNA testing are approximately 205 per month (2 460 per year) however, these are not guaranteed. It is expected that approximately 25 % of the cases referred will be cancelled after referral either before samples have been taken or after samples have been taken but before testing commences. The contractor will need to carry out YSTR testing in relation to criminal investigations and report findings, along with providing statements regarding analysis to assist in the prosecution of criminal cases and for any and all witnesses to attend court as directed by the Courts, and Crown Prosecution Service.