§ Mrs. Renee Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sex offenders are currently being given hormone treatment; where the hormone treatment given to sexual offenders takes place; what is done to inform prisoners given hormone treatment of the likely side effects they will experience; how many prisoners given hormone treatment have had to undergo an operation for the removal of false breasts; how many offenders given hormone treatment have committed further sexual offences after being discharged from prison; and what research has been carried out into the effectiveness of these treatments.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe medical treatment offered to prisoners is a matter for the clinical judgment of the individual doctor and the treatment given is recorded in the prisoner's medical record. No central records are maintained of the frequency with which particular types of treatment are given, but in view of the current interest in hormone treatment I have arranged for inquiries to be made to establish the number of prisoners who 685W have been, or are receiving, this treatment, or other treatments intended to have a similar effect. I am confident that doctors who prescribe hormone treatment do so only with the full consent of the prisoner after an explanation of the possible effects. Such research as we are aware of is inconclusive regarding the effectiveness of hormone treatment in preventing sexual offences, partly because the treatment can only be a contribution to that end. Other factors, including the prisoner's motivation to avoid such offences, are also important.