Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has issued recent guidance to the organisers of festivals on the use of back-of-house drug testing licences.

There is no safe way to take illegal drugs, which devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. The Government recognises the potential benefits of ‘back-of-house' drug checking services in the night time economy, at festivals and similar events. Back-of-house services are those which test surrendered or confiscated drugs, but do not offer individuals the opportunity to submit drugs for testing, do not return any drugs to individuals or give individuals any information on the content of the drugs following testing.

Instead, they provide intelligence to law enforcement and healthcare agencies about the kinds of illicit drugs in circulation and they enable localised public alerts if toxic or otherwise dangerous drugs are detected so that anyone at risk can dispose of those drugs in amnesty bins. This type of service does not encourage drug taking, recognising that all illicit drugs are harmful and that there is no safe way to take them.

No recent guidance has been issued to festival organisers. Organisations wishing to deliver back-of-house services have always been able to apply for a Home Office controlled drug licence and we continue to encourage potential applicants to plan ahead to ensure that they apply for a licence in good time for the festival season next year.

Guidance on applying for a Home Office controlled drug licence can be found at the following link: Controlled drugs: domestic licences - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).