§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of Her Majesty's prisons is now free of illegal drugs use by inmates; and in which there is illegal drug use by 5 per cent. or more of their inmates. [18628]
§ Miss Widdecombe[holding answer 4 March 1996]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Max Madden, dated 8 March 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about illegal drug use in prisons.
Mandatory drug testing had been introduced in 120 prisons by the third week of February and will be introduced in remaining prisons by 31 March.
It is too early to identify trends in drug misuse because many prisons have been testing for three months or less and others have yet to begin.