Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the prevalence of (a) drug use and (b) synthetic drug use among the prison population in England and Wales.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We recognise that illicit drug use in prisons is too high, and are committed to tackling this to improve safety, support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. We are investing over £40 million in physical security measures this financial year and have funded Incentivised Substance Free Living Units in 85 prisons. We work closely with health partners to identify prisoners with a drug dependency and support them into treatment and recovery and are rolling out naloxone in prisons – life saving medication which can reverse the effects of an opiate overdose.
We are currently unable to publish performance data on drug level use in prisons because due to reduced testing levels, reduced number of prisons with sufficient testing and the need to update the testing panel, the data is currently not sufficient to robustly estimate the percentage positive. Prisons across the estate strive to conduct target levels of rMDT, but in recent years Governors have had to make difficult decisions about how to balance the demands of testing with wider capacity pressures. However, rMDT is only one element of a wider testing regime, which includes suspicion-based testing for those suspected of illicit use, and compact-based testing on Incentivised Substance Free Living Units and Drug Recovery Wings. Our testing regime enables us to monitor a wide range of substances and assess the prevalence of different types of drugs. We keep this under regular review to ensure we identify emerging trends to keep both prisoners and staff safe. Our new drug testing contract supports this by giving us greater flexibility to respond to emerging drug threats, including synthetic drugs.
Asked by: Pam Cox (Labour - Colchester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisons and Young Offender Institutions currently have (a) an Incentivised Substance Free Living Unit operating, (b) a Drug Recovery Wing operating, and (c) a Drug Strategy Lead in post.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) has funded Incentivised Substance Free Living Units in 85 prisons, and six currently have abstinence-based Drug Recovery Wings. To support delivery of HMPPS’ Drug and Alcohol Strategy, 54 prisons have a dedicated Drug Strategy Lead. All remaining prisons, including Young Offender Institutions, have a designated point of contact for Drug and Alcohol Strategy work.
In addition, HMPPS has recruited 17 Group Drug and Alcohol Leads providing regional leadership, assurance, and co-ordination of drug and alcohol work for all the establishments in their Prison Group. They align activity at establishment level with national drug and alcohol strategy and policies which aim to restrict supply, reduce demand and support recovery. They also support local and regional partnerships with healthcare providers to support a range of issues including continuity of care on release.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 recent trends in the availability and use of illegal drugs within the prison estate.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We recognise that the availability and use of drugs in prisons is too high. Tackling this is a priority in order to reduce reoffending, and improve the safety of our prisons. To drive down supply of drugs, we are investing over £40 million in physical security measures this financial year. This builds on the range of specialist equipment prisons already use to intercept contraband, including X-ray body scanners, airport-style Enhanced Gate Security, and baggage scanners.
We must also address the demand for drugs which drives this illicit market. We work closely with health partners to identify prisoners with a drug problem and support them into treatment. To create the environment and incentives for prisoners to make the right choices, we have funded Incentivised Substance Free Living Units in 85 prisons. Prisoners on these units sign a behaviour compact, agree to be regularly drug tested and can access enhanced opportunities compared to a standard wing. Alongside this, we are working to increase access to mutual aid fellowships in prison, which can provide vital ongoing support for people in recovery.
The information requested regarding the proportion of prisoners testing positive on arrival and during their time in custody can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prisoners tested positive for illegal drugs on arrival and during their time in custody in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We recognise that the availability and use of drugs in prisons is too high. Tackling this is a priority in order to reduce reoffending, and improve the safety of our prisons. To drive down supply of drugs, we are investing over £40 million in physical security measures this financial year. This builds on the range of specialist equipment prisons already use to intercept contraband, including X-ray body scanners, airport-style Enhanced Gate Security, and baggage scanners.
We must also address the demand for drugs which drives this illicit market. We work closely with health partners to identify prisoners with a drug problem and support them into treatment. To create the environment and incentives for prisoners to make the right choices, we have funded Incentivised Substance Free Living Units in 85 prisons. Prisoners on these units sign a behaviour compact, agree to be regularly drug tested and can access enhanced opportunities compared to a standard wing. Alongside this, we are working to increase access to mutual aid fellowships in prison, which can provide vital ongoing support for people in recovery.
The information requested regarding the proportion of prisoners testing positive on arrival and during their time in custody can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the supply of illegal drugs into prisons, including through improved searching, staff screening and security technology.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Prisons in England and Wales have a range of specialist staff and equipment to tackle the smuggling of contraband into prisons, including drugs. This includes X-ray body scanners, airport-style Enhanced Gate Security, X-ray baggage scanners, detection dogs, and other specialist equipment. In addition, local security strategies allow for routine and random rub-down searches of prison officers and other staff upon entry to, or within, prisons.
This year we are investing over £40 million in physical security measures across 34 prisons, including £10 million on anti-drone measures, such as window replacements, external window grilles and specialist netting across 15 priority prisons.
All HMPPS prison staff are subject to rigorous pre-employment security vetting checks. These checks enable the organisation to assess whether candidates pose a risk to the safety and security of HMPPS information, assets, staff, and offenders, and whether they demonstrate the standards and core values expected of everyone working within HMPPS.
While the vast majority of prison staff act with integrity, HMPPS recognises the risk of corruption and is committed to tackling it at all levels. HMPPS’s Counter Corruption Unit works proactively with prisons and police to deter and disrupt staff wrongdoing.
Prison security must be dynamic and be able to respond to shifting risks as they manifest. We regularly review our security countermeasures capabilities and will not hesitate to adjust our approach as needed and use all the tools at our disposal.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drug related incidents were recorded in prisons in each of the past five years, including instances of possession, supply and related violence.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We publish the number of drugs finds in prisons in England and Wales in the HMPPS Annual Digest. Please see table 6.1 in the Finds tables and the Finds in Prison – Find Incidents data tool. The latest issue covers the 12-month period to March 2025, with a time series of drug finds starting from the 12-months to March 2007.
The HMPPS Annual Digest reports the number of drug find incidents rather than the overall number of drug related incidents. Any increase in finds should not be interpreted as an increase in drug related activity. Higher figures may reflect more items being found, rather than more items being present in prisons. Data relating to drug related incidents more generally could only be provided at disproportionate cost and data specific to instances of possession, supply and related violence cannot be disclosed for security reasons.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England or NHSBSA have identified any gaps or inconsistencies in national prescribing or outcomes data relating to puberty blockers in under-18s.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In March 2024, NHS England published a suite of documentation relating to its decision to remove gonadotrophin releasing hormone analogues as a routine treatment option in the National Health Service for children under 18 years old with gender dysphoria. This documentation included a review of the published evidence, which concluded that there is very limited evidence about safety, risks, benefits, and outcomes for the use of this medication in children with gender dysphoria. Restrictions on the sale and supply of these medicines via private and NHS prescriptions were introduced in May 2024.
In line with the findings and recommendations of the Cass Review, NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research have commissioned a carefully designed clinical trial to assess the relative benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones on young people’s physical, social, and emotional well-being.
With regard to national prescribing data, the Government holds information relating to NHS prescriptions of gonadotropin hormone-releasing hormone agonists for all purposes for children aged 17 years old and under that were prescribed and dispensed in community pharmacies or general practices in England in each year from 2015/16 to September 2025. The NHS Business Services Authority does not hold patient data prior to April 2015.
The Government does not hold data for prescriptions dispensed within secondary care, prisons, or other detention centres, or private prescriptions other than controlled drugs.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times drones have been recorded delivering (a) weapons and (b) drugs into prisons in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We publish the number of drone incidents in England and Wales in the HMPPS Annual Digest, please see table 6_1 in the Finds tables. The latest issue covers the 12-month period to March 2025, with a time series of drone incidents starting from the 12-months to March 2021.
Any increase in reported drone incidents should not be interpreted as an increase in incursions; it may reflect more focused reporting. Drone incidents should not be interpreted as definitive evidence of the delivery of weapons and drugs into prisons, as they include all incidents where a drone is sighted. Data specific to deliveries of illicit items cannot be disclosed for security reasons.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to tackle the problem of illegal deliveries of (a) phones, (b) drugs and (c) other contraband items into prisons via drones.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the illegal use of drones around prisons in England and Wales.
Whilst we cannot share our full range of countermeasures, our approach is multi-faceted and continually evolving. This includes strengthening physical security countermeasures, exploring technological developments, exploiting intelligence, bolstering legislation and working across Government and with international partners on this global issue.
HMPPS uses targeted countermeasures such as improvements to windows, specialist netting and grilles to stop drones successfully delivering contraband.
This year, we are investing over £40 million in physical security across 34 prisons. This includes £10 million on anti-drone measures including windows and secure netting across 15 prisons.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to improve its search procedures, in the context of the research and analysis entitled Security Investment Programme Evaluation, published by his Department on 5 September 2024.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
A full evaluation of the £100 Security Investment Programme, aimed to reduce crime in prison including reducing smuggling of drugs, was published on 5 September 2024 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-investment-programme-evaluation.
Airport-style enhanced gate security, comprising of metal detectors and X-ray baggage scanners, is used in 54 high-risk prison sites (both private and public sector), enabling routine searching of prison officers. In addition, local security strategies allow for routine and random rub-down searches of prison officers and other staff upon entry to, or within, prisons.
This year, we are investing over £40 million in physical security across 34 prisons to further prevent contraband entering prisons.