Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons have held amnesties for needles used for drug-taking in the last year.

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not record centrally whether prisons have held amnesties for needles for drug taking and could not do so without incurring disproportionate cost by conducting a survey of every prison establishment.

We have a zero tolerance approach to drugs and other illicit items in prisons. Anyone caught trying to smuggle these into prisons will be dealt with severely and may be referred to the police for prosecution.

We are working hard to keep contraband out of prison, and NOMS deploys a comprehensive range of security measures to reduce the availability of drugs in prisons, including working closely with police forces and carrying out random mandatory drug tests. The Agency works closely in partnership with the NHS in England and Wales who commission a range of treatment services in prison to support those with a substance misuse problem out of addiction and into sustained recovery.