Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times illegal drugs were confiscated on the HM Courts & Tribunals Service estate in the last five years.

The safety and security of court and tribunal users is paramount. HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has embedded a series of measures designed to keep its buildings, and the people within them (including staff, judiciary, contractors, jurors, and users) safe and secure. Among other things, security search on entry procedures are in place to ensure risks to personal safety are minimised. Details of the policy, including information on items not allowed into court and tribunal buildings are available online.

All illegal drugs discovered on court or tribunal users are confiscated and reported to the police. The data below includes that provided by HMCTS previous security contractors G4S and Mitie. G4S began recording numbers of drug confiscations in April 2017. Mitie began recording this in November 2018. Since April 2020 OCS has been HMCTS’ security provider. The numbers shown below relate specifically to the confiscation of drugs from persons on entry to court or tribunal buildings during ordinary security search procedures. Increased search procedures can take place when defendants enter into custody areas based on risk assessment and these can include a body search.