Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1133598

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the (a) prevalence, (b) type of drug, (c) method of importation and (b) health risks to (i) prisoners and (ii) staff of the presence of illegal drugs in prisons in England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	267271
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>HMPPS measures the prevalence of drug use in prisons through random mandatory drug testing of prisoners. These test for a wide range of drugs including psychoactive substances as defined in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. In 2017/18, 20.4% of samples tested positive for drugs.</p><p> </p><p>Psychoactive Substances (PS), as defined in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, are the most prevalent drug type in prison. Psychoactive substances were present in 60% of all positive samples in 2017/18, overtaking cannabis (28%), opiates (11%) and buprenorphine (10%). HMPPS is continuing to develop its drug testing frameworks to respond to the changing patterns of misuse in prisons.</p><p> </p><p>Drugs can enter prison through a number of routes including being thrown over the wall or flown over by drone, via mail, visits, forced recalls (offenders who intentionally breach their licence in order to be recalled), and corrupt staff. The extent to which individual routes are used varies over time and across the estate and is influenced by a range of static and dynamic factors. HMPPS monitors these routes by gathering intelligence and working with law enforcement partners.</p><p> </p><p>HMPPS is working with unions, independent scientists and clinicians to assess the impact of secondary exposure to psychoactive substances on staff and prisoners. A program of staff post-exposure biological testing is being expanded and will explore prisoner and staff experiences of secondary exposure to assess the risk.</p><p> </p><p>To respond to the risk from drugs in prisons, we are strengthening our gate and perimeter security, drafting specialist search teams into prisons across the country and investing in physical and technical security counter measures. Alongside this, HMPPS has developed a new, national Prison Drugs Strategy, published in April 2019. The strategy outlines how HMPPS is working to restrict the supply of drugs, reduce demand through rehabilitative activities, and support prisoners to build recovery from substance misuse.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:29:33 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1132517

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2019 to Question 260706 on Prisons: Drugs, which 20 prisons are included in the post-exposure testing programme.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	265594
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>Her Majesty’s Prison &amp; Probation Service has been investigating and evaluating the risks of second-hand exposure to psychoactive substances to prison staff. A pilot programme was run at Holme House prison in 2018 which involved anonymous pre and post-shift sampling of 15 volunteers. 122 samples were tested, and no metabolites of synthetic cannabinoids were detected. On the advice of toxicologists from Public Health England, HMPPS subsequently embarked on a programme of post-incident testing in 10 prisons on the 1 March 2019. All samples require the consent of the member of staff. As of 7 June 2019, 28 members of staff have been offered testing post-incident, with 17 staff consenting and providing a sample.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We are in the process of selecting 10 additional establishments to expand and accelerate the programme. The 10 prisons already included in the programme are HMPs Hewell, Ranby, Dartmoor, Holme House, Channing’s Wood, Low Newton, Durham, The Mount, Wymott and Portland.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 265595 question first answered 25/06/2019 16:58:23 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1132518

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2019 to Question 260706 on Prisons: Drugs, how many members of prison staff have been tested in the post-exposure testing programme in each of the last 24 months.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	265595
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>Her Majesty’s Prison &amp; Probation Service has been investigating and evaluating the risks of second-hand exposure to psychoactive substances to prison staff. A pilot programme was run at Holme House prison in 2018 which involved anonymous pre and post-shift sampling of 15 volunteers. 122 samples were tested, and no metabolites of synthetic cannabinoids were detected. On the advice of toxicologists from Public Health England, HMPPS subsequently embarked on a programme of post-incident testing in 10 prisons on the 1 March 2019. All samples require the consent of the member of staff. As of 7 June 2019, 28 members of staff have been offered testing post-incident, with 17 staff consenting and providing a sample.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We are in the process of selecting 10 additional establishments to expand and accelerate the programme. The 10 prisons already included in the programme are HMPs Hewell, Ranby, Dartmoor, Holme House, Channing’s Wood, Low Newton, Durham, The Mount, Wymott and Portland.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 265594 question first answered 25/06/2019 16:58:24 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1130066

registered interest
date	05/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has commissioned research into the effects of second-hand intoxication of prison staff by new psychoactive substances; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	260706
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>Her Majesty’s Prison &amp; Probation Service has commenced research into the effects of second-hand exposure of prison staff to psychoactive substances. Initial research is focused on post-exposure testing of staff across ten prisons and it has been agreed that the testing programme will be expanded to include a further 10 prisons.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 13/06/2019 11:53:20 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1088291

registered interest
date	13/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of monitoring systems for psychoactive substances in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	232068
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>Drug testing is an essential element of the HMPPS drug strategy and provides us with robust evidence on the prevalence of drug misuse. Drug testing can be used in support of security measures, to identify and signpost into drug treatment, monitor treatment compliance and act as an incentive to engage in treatment and drug free living.</p><p>HMPPS continues to explore new methodologies to develop our mandatory and voluntary drug testing frameworks enabling us to be responsive to the changing patterns of drug misuse in prisons. This includes the misuse of prescribed medication, and the dynamic market in psychoactive substances.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 21/03/2019 14:51:44 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1088293

registered interest
date	13/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with trade unions on the effectiveness of monitoring systems for psychoactive substances in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	232069
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service consults extensively with its trade unions on a wide range of issues.</p><p>Each prison has its own union management consultation committee and a health and safety committee. At national level there are consultation committees which cover areas including health and safety, HR and security. Meetings are chaired by senior leaders and the agendas are open to both sides.</p><p>HMPPS’s priority remains the prevention and cessation of any drug supply into prisons and consultation on all the related risks is undertaken in the forums I have referred to above.</p><p>Additionally, all Prison Service unions have been represented on the national working group on psychoactive substances – which was set up in late 2016.</p><p>Most recently unions have actively contributed to the revision of related health and safety procedures on the subject, including in 10 prisons where staff are being voluntarily tested for exposure to such substances.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 21/03/2019 14:38:41 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1055191

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 210641 on Prisons: Drugs, what information his Department holds on the number of incidents where staff may have been exposed to psychoactive substances.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	217064
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2019 answer text <p>We take all reports of the effects of secondary inhalation of psychoactive substances very seriously as protecting the health and safety of both our prisoners and our staff is our priority.</p><p>We are looking very closely at the information we receive on reported incidents but are currently unable to ascertain reliably whether an incident might be associated with secondary exposure to a psychoactive substance. We are working closely with Public Health England to understand the issue and to ensure that we respond appropriately.</p><p>While we continue to assess the risks posed by secondary exposure, we seek to mitigate any risks as far as possible and have revised our internal guidance on controlling these. The revised guidance will be published shortly and includes information on how to assess and control risk on entry into cells where psychoactive substances have been used, with more detail on specific airborne risks and control methods, and clearer guidance on responding to and investigating exposure.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 08/02/2019 14:53:44 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1055193

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 210641 on Prisons: Drugs, how many ambulances attended each prison as a result of (a) staff injuries and (b) staff injuries due to exposure to psychoactive substance in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	217065
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>Protecting the health and safety of our staff and prisoners is of the utmost importance. We take all reported incidents seriously and work hard to mitigate any risks that staff or prisoners face. We record ambulance attendance at prisons but our analysis does not identify the number of attendances relating specifically to staff injuries. However, we examine all of the information that we receive on reported incidents to ensure that we learn lessons and provide all staff with appropriate guidance. We are working closely with Public Health England to understand the issues around secondary exposure to psychoactive substances and ensure that we respond appropriately.</p><p>We have revised our internal guidance on controlling the risks of secondary exposure and this will be published shortly. It includes information on how to assess and control risk on entry into cells where psychoactive substances have been used, with more detail on specific airborne risks and control methods, and clearer guidance on responding to and investigating exposure.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 13/02/2019 15:29:46 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1055194

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 210641 on Prisons: Drugs, how many members of staff at each prison were admitted to hospital as a result of exposure to psychoactive substance in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	217066
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>Protecting the health and safety of our staff and prisoners is of the utmost importance. Our staff work hard to ensure that our prisons are safe and we are concerned by reports of the effects of secondary exposure to psychoactive substances. We do not have data on the number of staff admitted to hospital as a result of secondary exposure to a psychoactive substance but we are working closely with Public Health England to understand the issues around secondary exposure to psychoactive substances and ensure that we respond appropriately.</p><p>We have revised our internal guidance on controlling the risks of secondary exposure and this will be published shortly. It includes information on how to assess and control risk on entry into cells where psychoactive substances have been used, with more detail on specific airborne risks and control methods, and clearer guidance on responding to and investigating exposure.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 13/02/2019 15:57:14 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1045933

registered interest
date	22/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) searches for and (b) discoveries of drugs there have been in prisons in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	211138
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2019 answer text <p>The misuse of drugs in prison drives violence, vulnerability and crime and so tackling this is one of our top priorities. Consequently, we are improving our security to restrict the availability of drugs. We use body, property, cell and area searches, metal-detecting scanners and drug and phone detection dogs across the estate. We are investing £6 million to tackle drug supply and reduce demand in 10 of the most challenging prisons, with body scanners and more staff focused on effective searching.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not record the number of searches conducted in each prison. Data and information on drug finds is routinely published as part of the normal publication schedule</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-hm-prison-and-probation-service-digest-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-hm-prison-and-probation-service-digest-2017-to-2018</a></p><p> </p><p>Data on drug finds in 2018-19 will be published in due course in line with the normal publication schedule.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 28/01/2019 16:05:45 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell