§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have died in British prisons as a result of the use of unlawful drugs in each year since 1988.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 21 January 1994]: Responsibility 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 Derek Lewis to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 24 January 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of people who have died in British prisons as a result of the use of unlawful drugs in each year since 1988.
Information from the outcome of post mortem examinations does not always provide details of the drugs which may be implicated in deaths. In England and Wales the information available centrally, which may not be complete, on deaths in prison which were attributable to illicit drugs which are not pharmaceutical preparations is as follows:
Number 1988 0 1989 0 1990 0 1991 2 1992 2 Data are not yet available for 1993.