HC Deb 02 February 1995 vol 253 cc797-9W
Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he or the Director of Prison Services has received to the effect that the testing of prisoners for cannabis use encourages the use of harder drugs; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

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. Harry Cohen, dated 2 February 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question enquiring about representations received to the effect that the testing of prisoners for cannabis use encourages the use of harder drugs. The Secretary of State has not received any specific representations; I have received one letter recently which touched on the issue. We are aware that heavy users of cannabis may retain the drug in their bodies for much longer than light users of cannabis or users of harder drugs. This has been taken into account in the development of the drug testing policy within prisons and we are taking a number of precautions to ensure that prisoners are not encouraged to move from cannabis to harder drugs in the mistaken belief that they will more easily escape detection.

Mr. George Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on(a) sentence planning for all sentenced prisoners and (b) custody plans for remand prisoners.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

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. George Howarth, dated 2 February 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about what progress has been made on extending sentence planning to all sentenced prisoners and custody plans for remand prisoners. Sentence planning was introduced for longer term prisoners (serving 4 years or more) in October 1992 and for prisoners serving 12 months and over in November 1993. It is undertaken for all young offenders in Young Offender Institutions. In addition, some establishments have extended the process to prisoners serving under 12 months and remand prisoners. An extensive review of all aspects of sentence planning is currently underway. Consideration will then be given to extending it formally to a wider group of prisoners, including the introduction of custody plans for remand prisoners.

Mr. George Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were serving four years or more on(a) 30 June 1979, (b) 30 June 1984 and (c) 30 June 1989.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

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. George Howarth, dated 2 February 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many prisoners were serving four years or more on (a) 30th June 1979, (b) 30th June 1984 and (c) 30th June 1989. The following information is for prisoners with sentence lengths of over four years, including those serving life sentences.

Year Number
1979 5,678
1984 6,191
1989 12,112

Mr. George Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what national studies his Department is undertaking into vulnerable prisoners.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated 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. George Howarth, dated 2 February 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what national studies are being undertaking into vulnerable prisoners. The Prison Service is currently conducting a review of arrangements for the management of vulnerable prisoners. In addition, a research study commissioned to examine the effectiveness of integrated regimes between vulnerable and ordinary prisoners is in progress at Risley prison and other establishments.