Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle drug use in prisons.

The cross-government Drugs Strategy, published in December 2021, sets out a 10-year plan to reduce the supply and demand for drugs, deliver a high-quality treatment and recovery system, and reduce drug harms. The strategy was underpinned by record £900m investment across government to tackle drug misuse, including £120m funding for the MoJ to get more offenders into treatment.

To do this we are: piloting Problem-Solving Courts to combat drug and alcohol fuelled crime; rolling out Drug Recovery Wings where prisoners commit to remain abstinent and undergo regular voluntary drug tests; recruiting Drug Strategy Leads in all male category C and women's prisons to coordinate a whole system approach to tackling drugs, as well as Health and Justice Coordinators across all probation regions to ensure continuity of care for prison leavers.

This is all in addition to the existing £100m already invested to combat crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs and mobile phones.