Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of violent incidents in prisons linked to legal highs in the last five years.

Violence of any kind in prison is not tolerated and all assaults are treated extremely seriously. The reason behind a violent incident is not routinely recorded and therefore we do not have an estimate of the number of violent incidents that might be attributable to the use of legal highs. The National Offender Management Service is taking appropriate steps to tackle violence and after conducting a comprehensive review will be issuing further guidance early next year. Work is also underway with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that violent crimes are investigated and prosecuted.