§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refusals in the pilot programme of random mandatory drugs testing in prison for the male pilot prisons were recorded(a) in February to May 1995 and (b) in June to December 1995; and how many of the class A positives in (a) and (b) also tested positive for cannabis. [25385]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 18 April 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question concerning the number of refusals of random drug tests and the number of prisoners testing positive for both cannabis and class A drugs.Establishments' returns do not differentiate between refusals of random and other forms of mandatory drug test. Laboratory returns only record the number the multiple positive tests and not the combinations of drugs misused. The information requested in both parts of this Question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.