Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the target number of random mandatory drug tests to be carried out in prisons each month.

Random Mandatory Drug Testing is carried out across the prison estate to meet the annual target. The attached table details the prisons in which random mandatory drug tests were carried out in 2023.

Data for April to December 2023 is not included because it is subject to future publication as part of the 2023-24 Annual Digest.

The target number of rMDT each month is a random sample of 5% of prisoners in prisons with 400 or more prisoners and 10% of prisoners in prisons with fewer than 400 prisoners. These testing levels are set annually, based on the average monthly population in the previous year.