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Written Question
Offenders: Drugs
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure the rehabilitation of offenders with a history of substance abuse.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We know that substance misuse drives reoffending, and are committed to supporting offenders to overcome addictions and turn their lives around. Our landmark Drugs Strategy sets out the ambitious cross-government 10-year plan to address illegal drug use, underpinned by record additional investment – as part of which, the Ministry of Justice is supporting offenders at every stage of the criminal justice system into recovery.

In prison we have dramatically increased the number of incentivised substance-free living (ISFL) units, where prisoners commit to living drug-free with incentives and regular testing. Over 70 prisons now have an ISFL, up from 25 in summer 2022. To ensure prison leavers maintain their progress in treatment, we have recruited Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide to improve links between prison and community treatment services.

We are also supporting the rehabilitation of offenders with substance misuse needs in the community. We have increased probation’s drug testing capacity and we are piloting Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), to divert offenders with substance misuse and complex needs away from short custodial sentences into enhanced community-based sentences. ISCs aim to tackle the root cause of offending behaviour through robust supervision and interventions, frequent and random drug testing, and regular reviews with a single judge.


Written Question
Wandsworth Prison: Drugs
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the positive rate for random mandatory drug tests carried out at HMP Wandsworth was in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The latest period for which random mandatory drug tests (rMDT) data is available is the year April 2022 to March 2023 (2022-2023). 18% of random mandatory drug tests (rMDT) in Wandsworth were positive for either traditional or psychoactive drugs throughout 2022-23.

We are doing more to tackle the supply of drugs in prisons. Our £100m Security Investment Programme completed in March 2022 and delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, supplying full coverage across the closed male estate. We have also installed 84 X-ray baggage scanners at 49 sites, drug detection machines and metal detection archways. Furthermore, we are taking steps to support individuals with substance misuse issues in prison. We have dramatically increased the number of incentivised substance-free living units, where prisoners commit to living drug-free with incentives and regular testing. Over 70 prisons now have an ISFL, up from 25 in summer 2022.


Written Question
Cannabis: Mental Health
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Independent review of drugs by Professor Dame Carol Black, if his Department will commission further research on the potential impact of the use of (a) skunk and (b) all other cannabis on levels of psychosis.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Dame Carol Black’s independent review of drugs noted that cannabis poses a large number of health risks, including psychological and respiratory disorders, particularly given increases in potency. There is a growing body of evidence that indicates a link between cannabis and psychosis which underlines the importance of our approach to tackling its misuse. Cannabis continues to be the most commonly used drug and around 21% of adults starting drug treatment between 2021 and 2022 said they had a problem with cannabis use.

For this reason, cannabis is controlled under Class B of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. There is clear scientific and medical evidence that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage people’s mental and physical health, and harms people and communities.

At the UK Drugs Ministerial in November 2023, the latest research findings into the links between cannabis and psychosis were presented by a leading academic and those findings are informing policy making. The department has no current plans to commission further research into the links between cannabis and psychosis but continues to keep all drugs under review and will consider all evidence as appropriate.


Written Question
Drugs: Misuse
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits introducing drug contamination testing facilities in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government has not made a formal assessment of the benefits of drug checking facilities, but it recognises the potential harm reduction benefits of them.

The Government facilitates drug checking facilities provided that the possession and supply of controlled drugs are licensed by the Home Office Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit or, exceptionally, relevant exemptions under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 may apply.

Ministers are clear that drug checking services must not condone drug use and should only be delivered where licensed and operated responsibly, in line with Government policy to ensure that they discourage drug use and signpost potential users to treatment and support.


Written Question
Prison Officers: Drugs
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were charged under the (a) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and (b) Prisons Act 1952 for smuggling drugs into prison in each year since 2018.

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 which is often as a result of conditioning and manipulation by prisoners.

HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) has a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and takes appropriate action to the small number of staff and prisoners who break the rules. Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons including reducing the number of staff being manipulated and conditioned by prisoners, is ongoing. This includes increased resource to pursue corruption, as well as established a new ‘Prevent’ function, aimed at building staff resilience against corruption.

a) The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is not a charge associated to offences pursed by the Counter Corruption Unit, which tackles the corruption linked to HMPPS staff and prisoners.

b) The Counter Corruption Unit dataset is specific to charges within the act, notably conveyance. To provide the requested data it would be a disproportionate cost to check individual records to provide an answer to this question.


Written Question
Alcoholic Drinks: Sentencing
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that people convicted of a crime in which alcohol was an aggravating factor are provided with harm reduction (a) support and (b) education as part of their sentence.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice is committed to tackling the underlying causes of offending, including alcohol misuse, as it is crucial to reducing reoffending. Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.3% to 25.2% and we are continuing taking action to drive down the reoffending rate even further.

In the community, we want to make the best use of alternatives to custody to ensure that offenders with substance misuse needs are diverted to treatment wherever appropriate. Offenders can be given an Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) as part of a community sentence, and we are committed to increasing the use of these. The Department for Health and Social Care are investing £532m to increase drug and alcohol treatment and recovery places and we have recruited new Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between probation and local drug and alcohol treatment services.

We are also piloting three Intensive Supervision Courts where offenders will be subject to regular reviews with a judge, drug testing, incentives and sanctions.

In custody, we have recruited Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons to ensure a focus on tackling drug and alcohol misuse. Staying in treatment on release is crucial and so we are also rolling out more secure video calling technology, providing prisoners with the opportunity to engage with community treatment pre-release. We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. We now have over 60 of these wings across the estate and are aiming to reach up to 100 by March 2025. This will dramatically expand the number of prisoners who have access to these wings.


Written Question
Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to address alcohol harm in prisons.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure that all prisoners who need it have access to high-quality alcohol and substance misuse treatment. As part of the government’s 10-year drug strategy, DHSC has made a record £532 million of additional investment through to 2024/25 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services


The MoJ is also investing to tackle drug and alcohol misuse and engage more offenders in treatment, including recruiting Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons to coordinate a whole-system approach, and Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between prison and local drug and alcohol treatment services.

We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. We now have over 60 of these wings across the estate, and are aiming to reach up to 100 by March 2025. This will dramatically expand the number of prisoners who have access to these wings.

We are committed to tackling the supply of drugs and alcohol into prison. Our £100m Security Investment Programme completed in March 2022 and delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed male estate. We have also installed 84 X-ray baggage scanners at 49 sites, building on the rollout of our body scanners, drug trace detection machines and metal detection archways.


Written Question
Nitrous Oxide: Misuse
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to take further steps to help prevent the use of nitrous oxide.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government controlled nitrous oxide as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, on 8 November 2023. We are keeping implementation of the ban under review with police forces and key stakeholders and have committed to publishing a broad-ranging assessment of the effect of the control of nitrous oxide under this act, due to be published three years from the date of its control in November 2026.

We have worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop lesson plans on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which include specific references to the dangers of nitrous oxide. The lesson plans target primary and secondary school students, teaching them how to manage influences and pressure, and to keep themselves healthy and safe. They are available at the following link:

https://pshe-association.org.uk/drugeducation

The Government also has a drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce drug and alcohol misuse and its harms by providing awareness to young people, parents and concerned others. Information on nitrous oxide and the danger of its misuse is available at the following link:

https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/nitrous-oxide


Written Question
Nitrous Oxide: Misuse
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) users and (b) people that have experienced harm due to the use of nitrous oxide.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that 1.3% of people aged 16 to 59 years old, and 4.2% of people aged 16 to 24 years old, had used nitrous oxide in the year leading to March 2023. This was a 48% and 54% decrease compared with the year ending March 2020, respectively.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is the Government’s independent expert advisory body on drug-related issues. In March 2023, the ACMD published a report on the updated assessment of the health and social harms of nitrous oxide. This report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nitrous-oxide-updated-harms-assessment

The Home Office has committed to publishing a broad-ranging assessment of the effect of controlling nitrous oxide as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. This will be published three years from the date of its control, in November 2026.


Written Question
Home Office: Written Questions
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 20 December 2023 (HL1279), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what steps they are taking to inform parliamentarians about the two reports cited in the original question.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

As set out by the response to Written Answer HL767 and HL1279, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) marked the document titled “Interaction and relationship between the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016” “in confidence”. The Government has no plans to publish the document. The current Working Protocol between the Home Secretary and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, referred to in the response to question HL1279 is available on gov.uk at the following link: Working Protocol between the Home Secretary and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)