Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of monitoring systems for psychoactive substances in prisons.

Drug testing is an essential element of the HMPPS drug strategy and provides us with robust evidence on the prevalence of drug misuse. Drug testing can be used in support of security measures, to identify and signpost into drug treatment, monitor treatment compliance and act as an incentive to engage in treatment and drug free living.

HMPPS continues to explore new methodologies to develop our mandatory and voluntary drug testing frameworks enabling us to be responsive to the changing patterns of drug misuse in prisons. This includes the misuse of prescribed medication, and the dynamic market in psychoactive substances.