HC Deb 05 May 1983 vol 42 cc391-2
18. Mr. Foulkes

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times over the most recent 12-month period paraldehyde has been administered to prisoners in England and Wales.

Mr. Mellor

We do not keep central records of the use of individual drugs in prisons and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Foulkes

Is it not a pity that the Minister is not aware of how often this obnoxious and painful drug is used in prisons in England and Wales? Will he take steps to find out whether it is still being used, and advise against its use, as there are less painful and obnoxious options available?

Mr. Mellor

I cannot accept the hon. Gentleman's tendentious description of the drug, although it is right to say that other drugs are being used. We could establish what quantities of the drug are being used only by examining the stock records of each and every prison. I do not know that that would be appropriate. Any drug that is used in prison is administered by a qualified medical practitioner, who uses his medical judgment, as any medical practitioner does. I have no reason to think that the use of that drug in prison gives rise to any cause for concern.

Mr. Christopher Price

The Minister will know that since 1980, following pressure from Labour Members, the number of major tranquillisers prescribed in every prison in Britain has appeared at the end of the annual prison report. Would it not be comparatively simple to classify the heavy tranquillisers by type of drug? Surely it would not cost much to obtain the information that my hon. Friend the Member for South Ayrshire (Mr. Foulkes) seeks.

Mr. Mellor

I agree that in the prison department's annual report we publish a record of the dosages dispensed in prisons in five categories. However, the categories are broad. We have yet to be persuaded that, given the medical safeguards that I have set out, and the fact that no prisoner is compelled to take medication other than in very rare emergencies, there is any need to incur the expense involved in making such arrangements and in breaking down the figures further.