Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the pilot scheme to test wastewater for illegal drug use in prisons launched by his Department in 2021.

We are committed to identifying and tackling drug misuse in prisons, including through a range of drug testing approaches. In 2021, we undertook a small-scale proof of concept study at 13 prisons to understand wastewaters utility in detecting the presence or absence of illicit substances. Following successful detection in the pilot, we are continuing to test wastewater-based surveillance and its potential in assessing the prevalence of illicit substances in prisons. The evidence base around wastewater-based surveillance is continually developing and so we are working with leading academics and embedding quality assurance into our methods.

Prisons continue to have a zero-tolerance culture, and any prisoner suspected of taking illicit substances can still be subjected to a mandatory drug test. As part of the ambitious cross-Government Drug Strategy, we are rolling out a range of interventions to support prisoners off drugs and into recovery, such as doubling the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living wings and supporting prisoners to engage with community treatment pre-release.

We are also committed to tackling the supply of drugs into prison. Our £100m Security Investment Programme completed in March 2022 and delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed male estate. We have also installed 84 X-ray baggage scanners 49 sites, building on the rollout of our body scanners, drug trace detection machines and metal detection archways.