§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what records are available to his Department in respect of prisoners in England and Wales who are registered drug users. [26543]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility 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.
265WLetter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 25 April 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what records are available to the Department in respect of prisoners in England and Wales who are registered drug users.The Home Office Addicts Index maintains records of notified drug misusers. Because of the confidential nature of the data, the only prison staff allowed access are Medical Officers, who also have access to the medical records of individual prisoners.