§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults on(a) staff and (b) prisoners occurred before and after mandatory drugs testing took place in (i) February to April, (ii) May to June and (iii) August to October in (1) 1993, (2) 1994 and (3) 1995 and (iv) November to January in (4) 1993–94, (5) 1994–95 and (6) 1995–96. [13898]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Alan Walker to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 7 February 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the numbers of assaults on staff and prisoners for specific periods back to 1993.
Mandatory drug testing began in eight pilot establishments in February 1995. A phased programme to introduce it to all remaining establishments began in September 1995, with 23 establishments performing mandatory drug testing by the end of October and 94 by the end of January 1996.
The information requested is given in the attached table.
184W
Number of proven adjudications for assaults1 prison service establishments, February 1993—January 1996 England and Wales Staff/others Prisoners Total February 1993—April 1993 629 534 1,163 May 1993—June 1993 513 372 885 August 1993—October 1993 788 666 1,454 November 1993—January 1994 920 638 1,558 February 1994—April 1994 815 559 1,374 May 1994—June 1994 541 389 930 August 1994—October 1994 883 640 1,523
Number of proven adjudications for assaults1 in prison service establishments, February 1993—January 1996 England and Wales Staff/others Prisoners Total November 1994—January 19952 801 624 1,425 February 1995—April 19952 785 611 1,396 May 1995—June 19952 497 444 941 August 1995—October 19952 729 681 1,410 November 1995—January 19962 707 614 1,321 1 Includes attempting, inciting and assisting in an assault. 2 Provisional information.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refusals there were in respect of mandatory drugs testings in prisons in England and Wales; how many urine samples were provided; of those, how many proved positive for(a) cannabis only, (b) class A drugs only and (c) cannabis and class A drugs; how many days' loss of remission there were consequent on refusals; and how many days' loss of remission there were consequent on positive urine tests for (i) February to April, (ii) May to June, (iii) August to October and (iv) November 1995 to January 1996. [13897]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Alan Walker to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 7 February 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director Genera! from the office, to reply to your recent Question about mandatory drug testing.
Between February and November 1995 some 4961 drug screening tests were carried out under the mandatory drug testing programme. Analysis of results from eight pilot prisons over an eight month period show that of those prisoners tested at random. 30.6% tested positive for cannabis while 3.6% tested positive for Class A drugs. Information on the numbers testing positive for both cannabis and Class A drugs is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The attached table shows the number of refusals to provide a sample and the number of addition days added both as a consequence of refusals and as a result of positive urine tests for the periods requested.
185W
Number of proven adjudications and punishments of unsuspended additional days for drug offences Number of offences Number of days awarded Average number of days Total number of days Unauthorised use1 February to April 1995 102 81 5 439 May to June 1995 180 105 9 963 August to October 1995 526 324 11 3,525 November 1995 to January 1996 2,007 1,298 12 15,792
Number of proven adjudications and punishments of unsuspended additional days for drug offences Number of offences Number of days awarded Average number of days Total number of days Refusal to provide a sample1 February to April 1995 15 12 11 127 May to June 1995 29 16 12 191 August to October 1995 32 19 15 290 November 1995 to January 1996 184 98 23 2,225 1 Includes attempting, inciting and assisting. All figures in these tables are based on provisional information. The rising numbers of both offences are linked to an increase in establishments performing mandatory drug tests from eight between February and June, to 23 by the end of October and 94 by the end of January.