Accreditations - an assurance of quality
Our Court Approved and Immigration DNA relationship testing is carried out at the LGC labs in Teddington. LGC has been conducting paternity and relationship tests since 1989 and uses the most accurate genetic testing procedures available. Their paternity laboratory is accredited by the Ministry of Justice as a body that may carry out parentage tests directed by the civil courts in England and Wales under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969. Furthermore both NorthGene and LGC comply with the UK Department of Health’s published Voluntary Code of Practice and Guidance on Genetic Paternity Testing Services. Professor Sir John Burn was part to the team who drew up this code of practice during his time as a member of the Human Genetics Commission.
The LGC laboratory team is UKAS accredited to the quality standard BS EN ISO 17025, which ensures quality from an initial enquiry through to the reporting of results. Testing is carried out in the UK in purpose built laboratories and is performed by fully qualified scientific staff.
We are aware of the sensitive nature of relationship testing and therefore place confidentiality at the forefront of our list of priorities. NorthGene is an integral part of the Institute of Human Genetics in Newcastle, which includes one of the country’s leading NHS Genetics Centres. Our work is conducted in a secure environment and all of our staff are bound by the Official Secrets Act 1911 to 1989, the Social Security Administration Act 1992, section 123 and by our company’s confidentiality agreements.