HC Deb 17 March 2003 vol 401 cc583-6W
Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what drug treatment facilities are available for juveniles in(a) local authority secure units, (b) secure training centres and (c) young offender institutions; and who provides them. [102449]

Hilary Benn

The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) is responsible for commissioning and purchasing juvenile secure accommodation from the prison Service, private sector secure training centres (STCs) and local authority secure units LASUs), and for setting and monitoring standards.

The YJB requires custodial establishments to provide access to substance misuse assessments, care plan development, withdrawal services and education/ awareness programmes.

Prison Service Drugs Strategy Directorate is responsible for drugs services in young offender institutions (YOIs). The Prison Service model for delivering druges services is CARATs (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare services). CARATs services can be provided by both prison service staff and external agencies. All young peole should be screened by health staff as part of their general induction assessment. CARATs staff support this process and may provide specialist intervention as appropriate.

STCs and LASUs generally provide in-house substance misuse services managed by each unit's health provision and education services. Some LASUs also commission additional specialist services from the community. Young people are screened on arrival to the units, and prevention education takes place as pat of personal social health education.

Recognising that there is inconsistent provision across the secure estate, the YJ13 has commissioned Galahad consultants to identify the substance misuse needs of young people in custody, the level of current service provision and gaps. Their final report will be available in June 2003 and will inform future work in this area. The YJB has also commissioned Drugscope to develop effective practice guidance for youth justice staff on working with young people with substance misuse needs; this will be available in June 2003.

The national drug strategy relaunched by the Home Office in December 2002 identifies as a priority vulnerable young people and those within the youth justice system. The YJB has been allocated £300 million over three years from 2003 to improve substance misuse services across the juvenile secure estate.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what form of drug treatment is available for prisoners(a) on remand and (b) serving sentences of less than two years. [102465]

Hilary Benn

The Prison Service has in place a range of drug interventions to address the needs of low, moderate and severe drug-misusing prisoners who are either on remand or serving sentences of less than two years. Detoxification is available in all local and remand prisons; Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare (CARAT) services are available in all prisons—as is access to the voluntary drug testing programme.

The Service recognises that many prisoners who serve two years or less are likely—due to their sentence length—to be excluded from participation in drug rehabilitation programmes. The Service has, as part of the recent Spending Review 2002 settlement, received significant funding to boost treatment provision. Part of this funding will be channelled into developing a low-intensity programme specifically targeted at those prisoners who will only be in custody for a short period.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Djanogly) of 5 March 2003,Official Report. column 772W, what forms of (a) drug detoxification and (b) other types of rehabilitation programme are available for prisoners serving sentences of less than two years; and if he will make a statement. [102468]

Hilary Benn

Drug detoxification is available in all local and remand prisons. Detoxification can be made available to reduce the effects of withdrawal symptoms from specific drugs or to provide maintenance prescribing. The Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare (CARAT) service is available in all prisons as is access to the voluntary drug programme.

Prisoners who serve two years or less are likely, due to sentence length, to be unable to participate in a drug rehabilitation programme. The Prison Service received funding from the recent Spending Review 2002 to boost treatment provision. Part of this funding will be used to develop a programme specifically targeted at those prisoners who will be in custody for a short period.