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511439

registered interest
date	12/04/2016
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 statistical trends set out in the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 20933, what plans he has to tackle drug use in prison.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	33694
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2016 answer text <p>We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison in England and Wales. We recently introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls, including new psychoactive substances, face up to two years in prison. Those who involve themselves in the distribution of drugs in our prisons should know that they could face prosecution and extra time behind bars.</p><p> </p><p>We have a comprehensive range of security measures and searching techniques in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons. We are also piloting the use of body scanners to reveal drugs concealed within the body. If successful, we will use these to complement existing tactics to prevent the smuggling of illicit drugs.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, there is a wide-ranging programme of work being undertaken by NOMS and its partners to tackle the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), which we know are having a particularly destructive effect in prisons. This includes legislation to control the supply, possession and conveyance of any NPS into a prison. We have also trained more than 300 dogs to specifically detect NPS as well as piloting mandatory drug testing of prisoners for psychoactive substances in 34 prisons. We are evaluating the effect of the test and will continue to monitor prisoner drug use so that we can continue to support meaningful interventions and provide an effective testing regime.</p><p> </p><p>We are also working with the Department of Health and others to improve our understanding of the risks NPS present for offenders and to provide appropriate information, guidance and support to offenders and those working with them in prison.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 18/04/2016 14:59:18 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

479668

registered interest
date	17/03/2016
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 research his Department is undertaking on the use and effects of psychoactive substances on the prison estate.
tabling member constituency	Swansea East
tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
uin	31543
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2016 answer text <p>We do not tolerate drugs in prison. There is a wide-ranging programme of work being undertaken by NOMS and its partners to better understand and to tackle the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), which have a particularly destructive effect in prisons.</p><p> </p><p>In April we will introduce widespread drug testing of prisoners for NPS, we are training sniffer dogs to detect NPS, and we are also working with Health partners and others to provide appropriate information, guidance and support to offenders and those working with them in prison. We have a comprehensive range of security measures in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 29/03/2016 13:54:12 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

452042

registered interest
date	10/02/2016
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 10 February 2016 to Question 25491, how many prisoners returned to jail having broken their licence conditions were subsequently found to be carrying concealed drugs in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	26857
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2016 answer text <p>Prisoners recalled to custody having breached the conditions of their licence will be arrested by the police and then taken to the nearest local prison for the area in which they were arrested.</p><p> </p><p>Once returned to a local prison, prisoners will be searched and risk assessed in line with the prison’s local policy for stopping contraband. Prisons deploy a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison.</p><p> </p><p>Prisoners found with drugs on entry to prison could receive a range of sanctions including days added to their sentence, or, in cases where the quantity of drug or packaging suggests possession with intent to supply, are referred to the police. All visitors or staff caught with drugs are referred to the police as supply is always suspected in these cases.</p><p> </p><p>Data on the number of prisoners who were found with drugs following licence recall could only be collated at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 22/02/2016 15:50:13 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

452086

registered interest
date	10/02/2016
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 steps he is taking to eradicate new psychoactive substances across the prison estate; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	26863
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2016 answer text <p>We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison and there are already a range of robust measures in place to detect drugs, including the use of search dogs and intelligence-led searches. More than 300 dogs have received specialist training to detect NPS. We recently introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls, including new psychoactive substances, face up to two years in prison. Those who involve themselves in the distribution of drugs in our prisons should know that they will face prosecution and extra time behind bars.</p><p>We have begun a pilot to test for the use of psychoactive substances, and in April 2016, we plan to introduce widespread mandatory drug testing of prisoners for psychoactive substances. Those who are found to have used psychoactive substances will face sanctions under prison rules, including by having days added to their time in custody.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 24/02/2016 12:07:52 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

449876

registered interest
date	02/02/2016
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 incidents there have been of usage of illegal highs in prisons in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	25298
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2016 answer text <p>We do not tolerate drugs in prison. Prisoners are tested for a range of controlled drugs through our mandatory drug testing (MDT) system, which randomly tests up to 10% of the population in each prison, each month. In addition, prisoners can be subject to testing in response to specific threats. Any prisoner found through MDT to have used controlled drugs will face an internal adjudication and could receive a range of sanctions including days added to their time in custody.</p><p> </p><p>We have begun a pilot to expand this testing to include new psychoactive substances and in April we plan to introduce this across the prison estate. We have also introduced new legislation to counter the smuggling of NPS into prisons and are training 300 sniffer dogs to detect NPS.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the number of positive MDT tests for illegal drugs over the past five financial years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of positive MDT tests</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>10324</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>10268</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>9956</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>8659</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>6742</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><ul><li><p>Table shows instances where a prisoner has tested positive for a controlled drug, one of amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepine, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, opiates, methadone and buprenorphine.</p></li><li><p>Where a prisoner is found to have used more than one substance, a separate positive will be reported for each substance found to have been used.</p></li><li><p>Includes MDT tests arising from all prison MDT programmes including random, suspicion, at risk, frequent and reception testing</p></li></ul> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 10/02/2016 16:18:24 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

450006

registered interest
date	02/02/2016
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 estimate he has made of the number of prisoners returned to jail having broken their licence conditions and subsequently been found to be carrying concealed drugs.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	25491
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2016 answer text <p>Prisoners recalled to custody having breached the conditions of their licence will be arrested by the police and then taken to the nearest local prison for the area in which they were arrested.</p><p> </p><p>Once returned to a local prison, prisoners will be searched and risk assessed in line with the prisons’ local policy for stopping contraband. Prisons deploy a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband, both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. We will continue to explore new methods of preventing drugs coming into prisons</p><p> </p><p>Prisoners found with drugs on entry to prison are sanctioned, potentially including days added to their sentence, or, in cases where the quantity of drug or packaging suggests possession with intent to supply, will be referred to the police. All visitors or staff caught with drugs are referred to the police.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 10/02/2016 14:56:04 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

450008

registered interest
date	02/02/2016
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 estimate he has made of the number of prison officers injured on duty in incidents involving new psychoactive substances in the last year.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	25488
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2016 answer text <p>Where injury to prison officers is suspected to be wholly due or due in part to new psychoactive substances, this is noted but the figures are subjective and the connection with NPS cannot be proven. We are piloting mandatory drug testing for new psychoactive substances from this month, and intend to roll it out to all prisons by April 2016.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 10/02/2016 11:02:29 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

450011

registered interest
date	02/02/2016
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 estimate he has made of the number of prison officer hours spent guarding prisoners in hospital as as a result of incidents involving new psychoactive substances.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	25490
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2016 answer text <p>This information is not held centrally.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 25489 question first answered 09/02/2016 17:35:20 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

450014

registered interest
date	02/02/2016
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 his Department's policy is on investing in drug detection technology to tackle illicit substances being brought into prisons; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	25485
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2016 answer text <p>The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) deploys a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. NOMS continues to explore new methods of preventing drugs coming into prisons and body scanners are seen as a valuable part of this strategy.</p><p> </p><p>An independent expert panel is assessing the use of a body scanner at HMP Wandsworth, as required by the Justification of Practices Involving lionising Radiation Regulations 2004.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 25486 question first answered 10/02/2016 17:54:42 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

450016

registered interest
date	02/02/2016
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, when he expects to have body scanners to help detect illicit substances installed in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	25486
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2016 answer text <p>The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) deploys a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. NOMS continues to explore new methods of preventing drugs coming into prisons and body scanners are seen as a valuable part of this strategy.</p><p> </p><p>An independent expert panel is assessing the use of a body scanner at HMP Wandsworth, as required by the Justification of Practices Involving lionising Radiation Regulations 2004.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 25485 question first answered 10/02/2016 17:54:42 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham