Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prevent illicit drugs being brought into secure mental health wards.

Operating safe, therapeutic and clinically effective services is the responsibility of service providers to manage in accordance with best practice. NHS England’s national service specifications for adult medium and low secure mental health services reinforce the importance of procedural, physical and relational security to address such matters. For high secure services, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care issues specific Directions to providers regarding the way they must manage their security arrangements. These arrangements cover illicit substances.