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<p>Protecting the health and safety of our prisoners and staff is our priority and
I am concerned by reports of the effects of secondary inhalation of psychoactive substances
in addition to the harm which prisoners do to themselves by using these drugs.</p><p>We
do not have reliable data on the number of incidents where staff may have been exposed
to psychoactive substances but we are working closely with Public Health England and
other experts to understand the scale of the issue and to ensure our response to the
threat is clinically and scientifically appropriate.</p><p>Our internal guidance on
controlling the risks of secondary exposure has, though, been substantially revised
following consultation and includes detailed information on how to assess and control
risk on entry into cells where psychoactive substances have been used.</p><p>Of course,
the best way to do address this risk is to keep drugs out of prisons. That is why
we have formed a Drugs Taskforce which is working with law enforcement and health
partners across government to restrict supply, reduce demand and build recovery. The
Taskforce is developing a national Drug Strategy, which will provide all prisons with
guidance and examples of best practice to support them in tackling drugs. We are also
investing £6 million in 10 of the most challenging prisons, to provide more staff
focused on effective searching, drug detection dogs, body scanners and improved perimeter
defences.</p><p>Psychoactive substances have presented a particular challenge and
in September 2016, we became the first prison service in the world to introduce innovative
mandatory drug tests for these substances, a significant step in tackling the supply
and use of them. We have made it a criminal offence to possess psychoactive substances
in prison, trained more than 300 sniffer dogs specifically to detect them and ensured
all prisons have clear guidance on how to detect and prevent attempts to send paper
laced with psychoactive substances into prisons.</p>
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