Disclosure Log

Message from Nottinghamshire County Council - 20 October 2025

Dear *********,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 – REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REFERENCE FOI/6572

Thank you for your request for information relating to Social Services Oral Drug Testing.

We are now able to provide the following information:

1. The Nottinghamshire County Council procedures and policies on the administration of oral saliva drug tests (specifically ScreenPro Oral point of Care Test (POCT)) and any after-test procedures when returned to the office/base.
 
The outcome of the drug test will have been submitted onto the electronic records. Dependent on the outcome of the test, when we were using the Randox services if the outcome was presumed positive, then a back to lab test sample may have been done in which two samples were further completed with the donor and sealed in front of the doner and sent to Randox with the appropriate chain of custody form which they then tested the A sample and kept the B sample for 1 month if negative then 12 months if positive to be tested at a later date if the donor wished for this. This was all in the doner information form that should have been given out to the donor.
In terms of the current kits which we have been using from Eurofins since July 2024, these are only point of care tests and we do not complete back to lab testing. When the test is done, the result is recorded on the consent form and put onto the mosaic step. The test is thrown away.
These test kits are instant test kits and give an instant result, you can not use them for retesting.
 
The Eurofins kit is the ScreenPro oral test.

2. The training and guidance issued to social workers about following the procedures in point 1.
 
Full training is provided to all people using the testing kits. The information shows them how to use the kits, what to record, how to fill in the consent form and the mosaic step along with the the disposal of the kit.

3. Guidance on what happens in the event of a faulty/inconclusive test and the logging of errors/issues/faulty tests. 
 
As with all tests some can come back without a control line, meaning that the test has not worked for some reason, this could be down to there not being enough saliva that has reached the testing strip, or there was an error on that strip of the test. If this happens the worker should have taken 3 kits out with them and another test would be used.
The outcomes are logged on the mosaic step.

4. The chain of custody of tests and retesting procedures.
 
Consent forms are completed with the point of care tests. These are done with the donor and a instant outcome is given, therefore chain of custody forms as not needed as the test is not transported anywhere else for testing. The chain of custody is the paperwork that gets filled in and sent off with samples for lab testing. We used to have chain of custody forms when we used Randox and completed back to lab samples, this is a legal document that is completed. The back to lab tests were then tested by the Randox labs and they continued the chain of custody from their side.

5. Any internal audits/compliance checks regarding how the ScreenPro Oral point of Care Test are managed and liaison procedures with Randox on this.
 
This is not a Randox piece of kit. The Randox kit was a Oral Tox device.
 
With Eurofins, there is a link person there that we can communicate any concerns we have with, however we are not aware of any that has been raised.

6. Any log email/written correspondence from/between social workers within Nottinghamshire County Council with regards to faulty Oral drug tests between the 1st December 2024 and 31st December 2024. 
 
There are no emails or written correspondence from December 2024 regarding faulty tests.

7. Confirmation on whether the council retains secondary samples for re-testing and the retention period.
 
We have never saved any samples as we do not have the facilities for this or the need as we can not do lab testing ourselves. When we did back to lab with Randox a secondary sample was sent to them (A and B Sample) and they retained the B sample but only for a short time.

We trust this now satisfies your request and that you find this information to be helpful, however if you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled, then please email us at [email protected] quoting the reference FOI/6572 and we will be happy to review your request

For future reference, Nottinghamshire County Council regularly publishes previous FOI requests and answers on its website, under Disclosure logs, that may provide details relating to your query. (see link) Your privacy: we use your personal information such as name and address so that we can comply with our legal obligations to respond to FOI requests.  For further details about the use of information about you, please see the information handling privacy notice on our website at https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/4323566/informationgovernanceandinformationrightsprivacynotice.pdf

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review.   Requests should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to your original request and should be addressed to: Complaints and Information Team, Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, NOTTINGHAM, NG2 7QP or [email protected].

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, WILMSLOW, SK9 5AF or