Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire have been arrested for possession of (i) Class A drugs, (ii) Class B drugs and (iii) Class C drugs in the last year; and what steps his Department is taking to rehabilitate people convicted of drug-related crimes.

The information requested on arrests is not available centrally. Data held by the Home Office on arrests for drug offences cannot be broken down to identify the drug class type.

Offenders are able to access the same help for substance misuse problems as those in the wider community. Prison, probation and youth justice staff work closely with health commissioners and providers to support offenders to access these services. Where appropriate, for those sentenced to a community sentence, the court can impose, as part of that sentence, a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement.

Under Transforming Rehabilitation, Community Rehabilitation Companies will begin to work with offenders while still in custody, enabling them to provide "through the gate" support before managing them in the community. This will support greater continuity of drug treatment, and new processes are being developed and tested in nine resettlement prisons in conjunction with health partners. In addition, the Offender Rehabilitation Act will bring new powers to require offenders on licence, where appropriate, to attend drug appointments, as well as expanding powers for testing for Class A and Class B drugs.