Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to protect prison officers from the harmful effects of psychoactive substances used by prisoners.

We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prisons. Psychoactive substances present a variety of risks to our establishments, not just to the individuals taking them but also to other prisoners and staff.

We are committed to improving safety across the prison estate and are already taking action on the supply and use of dangerous psychoactive substances by prisoners. We have developed an innovative new drug testing programme, trained over 300 drug detection dogs to specifically detect psychoactive substances and introduced new legislation, which makes it a criminal offence to possess any psychoactive substance in a custodial institution.

All prisons have robust risk assessments and control measures in place, including local first aid and healthcare provisions. If staff suspect they have been exposed to drugs or psychoactive substances, there are a range of support mechanisms available to them. This includes confidential counselling, occupational health services and care-teams in prisons. Following any suspected exposure, staff are also advised to visit the nearest Accident & Emergency Department so that their symptoms can be treated and the appropriate medical advice can be received.