Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 26 June 2023 to Question 190334, whether he has made an estimate of the number of (a) prison officers and (b) other prison staff who have been (i) investigated, (ii) arrested and (iii) charged in relation to the supply of drugs in prisons in each of the last six months.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The vast majority of prison staff are hardworking and dedicated. A minority of staff engage in corrupt activity.
HM Prison & Probation Service has a zero-tolerance policy to drugs conveyed into prisons and take appropriate action to a small number of prison staff who break the rules. Our £100m Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs and mobile phones, is ongoing. This includes increased resource to pursue corruption, as well as established a new ‘Prevent’ function, aimed at building staff resilience against corruption.
Below is a table showing the breakdown of staff investigated from July 23 to Dec 2023 relating to the conveyance of drugs.
Table 1
Month | Cases where Officer Investigated | Cases where Non-Officer Investigated |
TOTAL | 104 | 42 |
Jul | 20 | 8 |
Aug | 19 | 7 |
Sep | 18 | 7 |
Oct | 19 | 7 |
Nov | 23 | 7 |
Dec | 5 | 6 |
Below is a table showing the breakdown of staff arrested from 2019 to Dec 2023 to date relating to the conveyance of drugs.
Table 2
Month | Cases where Officer Arrested | Cases where Non-Officer Arrested |
TOTAL | 12 | 7 |
Jul | 3 | 1 |
Aug | 1 | 1 |
Sep | 2 | 3 |
Oct | 3 | 1 |
Nov | 1 | - |
Dec | 2 | 1 |
Below is a table showing the breakdown of staff charged from 2019 to Dec 2023 to date relating to the conveyance of drugs.
Table 3
Month | Cases where Officer Charged* | Cases where Non-Officer Charged* |
TOTAL | 1 | 2 |
Jul | - | - |
Aug | - | - |
Sep | - | 1 |
Oct | 1 | - |
Nov | - | - |
Dec | - | 1 |
Source: Linkspace Case Management System.
Notes:
Linkspace is the Counter Corruption Unit’s (CCU) Case Management System used to record and track cases linked to corruption.
Data provided by the Counter Corruption (CCU) have the following Caveats applied below;
1) The new Counter Corruption Unit came into being in April 2019, with a new structure and a change to ways of working. During the initial transition period, and prior to the introduction of the new Case Management System, it is possible that not all arrests were being captured.
2) Prior to April 2019, corruption in HMPPS was managed by the Corruption Prevention Unit
(CPU). The CPU was a largely centralised unit focused on sanitising and disseminating all
corruption related intelligence to the Police, with an individual Regional Corruption
Prevention Manager (RCPM) in each geographical region offering advice and support to
prisons in managing corruption, Hence data prior to April 2019 is not available.
3) Data includes Non-Directly Employed Staff (public or private) as they provide a service on behalf of HMPPS.
4) Officers ‘charged*’ is not an assured metric, the data below is likely very underrepresented given it is substantially lower than our CJS outcomes i.e., CJS sentences, court fines, conditional discharges etc over this period.
5) The Investigations data is all operations opened on linkspace that relate to conveyance of drugs, for officers and non-officers. Some investigations are based off limited intelligence and many are unproven.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department provides on the enforcement of offences relating to Category B drugs.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The police have a range of powers at their disposal to deal with drug-related offences and how police choose to pursue investigations is an operational decision for Chief Constables. However, we are clear that we expect them to enforce the law.
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 sets out the penalties related to Class B drugs. Under the Act, possession of a Class B drug can be penalised by up to five years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Supply or production of a Class B drug can be penalised by up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Where appropriate and proportionate, officers can issue an Out of Court Disposal.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the value of the illegal trade in Captagon.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.
Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).
The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.
The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop the availability of Captagon in England.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.
Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).
The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.
The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability of Captagon in England.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.
Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).
The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.
The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce concerns about violence and personal safety for prison officers and prisoners in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The safety of staff and prisoners is a key priority, and we continue our efforts to address the levels of violence in prison.
We are equipping our staff with the right tools and training to maintain safety in our prisons. We have rolled out a new Body Worn Video Camera system and we are rolling out PAVA – a synthetic pepper spray – in the adult male estate alongside SPEAR, a personal safety training package.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 doubled the maximum penalty to up to two years’ imprisonment for those who assault emergency workers, including prison officers.
We continue to support prisoners at risk of violence to move away from violent behaviours and we are delivering a £100m Security Investment Programme to disrupt smuggling of illicit items such as drugs and weapons that can fuel prison violence.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what practical steps they intend to take to strengthen bilateral relations with Ecuador, and in particular whether they intend to arrange UK ministerial meetings with new president-elect Daniel Noboa.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Ecuador have an excellent bilateral relationship, and we work closely on issues including the environment and climate, their fight against drugs and organised crime, and on the United Nations Security Council. Our Ambassador to Ecuador has talked with President-elect Noboa about our relationship and the opportunities it affords. We will continue to work to strengthen our relationship with Ecuador with the new President and his government once in place, including through ministerial meetings as appropriate.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of hours each day that body scanners for (a) prison staff and (b) prisoners entering prisons in England and Wales are operated by staff in the last 12 months.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Data on the number of hours x-ray body scanners are operated by staff in prisons is not recorded.
HMPPS currently scan adult male prisoners on an intelligence or reasonable suspicion-led basis. It does not have legal permission to use x-ray body scanners on staff working in prisons.
Our £100 million security investment programme to reduce crime inside prisons, including stemming the flow of illicit items such as drugs, mobile phones, and weapons, was completed in March 2022. Enhanced gate security—including 659 staff, 154 drug dogs and over 200 pieces of equipment—has been deployed to 42 high-risk prison sites that routinely search staff and visitors. We now have 97 X-ray body scanners covering the entire closed male estate and they have recorded more than 28,000 positive indications helping to tackle the supply of drugs and mobile phones into prisons.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the promotion of illegal body building drugs on (a) TikTok and (b) other social media platforms.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Specified anabolic steroids, which are associated with bodybuilding, are controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and it is an offence to supply these.
The Online Safety Bill will require all tech companies to take robust action against illegal content. Priority offences listed in schedule 7 of the Bill reflect the most serious and prevalent illegal content and activity, against which companies must take measures. This includes the sale of controlled and illegal drugs. Companies will need to take proactive measures to identify and tackle this content on their platforms.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of when the targeted stakeholder engagement exercise on the proposed offence of cuckooing will conclude.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The exploitation and degradation that is associated with the pernicious practice of cuckooing is wholly unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle it.
Cuckooing is most commonly associated with the county lines drug distribution model. That’s why, as part of our ambitious 10-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years to tackle drugs supply and county lines activity, building on our successful County Lines Programme, launched in November 2019.
In March 2023, as part of the Government’s Anti-Social Behaviour action plan, we announced that we would be engaging with stakeholders on the scope of a potential new criminal offence.
The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise has revealed there are a range of powers and tools available to disrupt cuckooing activity and Home Office officials continue to work closely with police and wider partners to both raise awareness of cuckooing and share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent practice.