§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports on prisons were made by the Prisons Inspectorate in each of the past two years indicating those which mentioned the(a) use and (b) supply of illegal drugs. [107928]
§ Mr. BoatengBetween 1 February 1998 and 31 January 2000, the Chief Inspector of Prisons published 76 inspection reports on Prison Service establishments. Of these, 41 were announced and 35 were unannounced. Of the 35 unannounced, five were full inspections and 30 were short. To provide the detailed information on drugs requested would entail disproportionate cost. However, it is likely that all the announced and full unannounced reports will have mentioned the use of drugs, as will some of the short unannounced reports. References to the supply of drugs would require line by line scrutiny of each report.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any prison establishment has been closed because of illegal drugs use. [107930]
§ Mr. BoatengNo.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the proportion of prisoners known to have taken illegal drugs who could only have taken the drugs while in prison. [107931]
§ Mr. BoatengIn 1999, 84,911 mandatory drug tests were undertaken, and some 17,789 of those tests were positive for drugs. This figure includes results from both random and targeted tests. Provisional information indicates that, during 1999, there were 15,857 recorded offences of "unauthorised use of a controlled drug", of which 13,409 were recorded as being proven at adjudication and punished under Prison Rules.