The introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) reforms in 2013 removed public funding for the provision of DNA, drug, and alcohol tests in private family law cases. Since the reforms came into force there have been concerns that the lack of provision for these tests was leading to delays in private law cases concerning children and, as a consequence, having a negative impact on their welfare.
As a result of this change, it was agreed to run a pilot project to explore how public funding for the provision of DNA, drug, and alcohol tests could work where such a test was judged to be necessary to resolve the case. The Ministry of Justice (Mo...
