§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list(a) the number of prisoners tested for drugs each month since March by individual establishment and (b) the number of prisoners who have tested positive for each type of drug, in each month since March by individual establishment. [5671]
§ 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.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. George Howarth, Dated 29 November 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the numbers of prisoners tested for drugs each month since March by individual establishment and (b) the number of prisoners who have tested positive for each type of drug, in each month since March by individual establishment.The figures requested are given in the accompanying tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library.Table A sets out the numbers tested in each establishment each month between March and September. Data for October is provisional. Table B gives the percentage of samples which have tested positive for each type of drug in each month between March and September by individual establishment. Percentages rather than numbers positive are given as this is a more meaningful indicator. Accordingly, the mandatory drug testing database is configured to produce reports in this format. Conversion of the percentages into figures could only be done at disproportionate cost.The data in both tables is for drug tests undertaken under all forms of Drug Strategy testing. These comprise the random, on suspicion, risk assessment, frequent testing and on reception types of mandatory drug tests, and voluntary testing. Since forms of targeted testing of drug misusers are included in these figures and because multiple drug positives from single sample have all been counted, the figures in table B indicate higher levels of drug misuse than those for random mandatory drug testing previously published in Hansard.
§ Mr. HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what special procedures the Prison Service adopts when testing women inmates who are menstruating for drugs. [5670]
§ 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.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 November 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the procedures for testing menstruating women for drugs.There are no special arrangements for collecting urine samples from menstruating women. Women of the Muslim and Jewish faiths are strongly opposed to exposing blood and staff are advised to take account of such religious convictions in considering whether to lay disciplinary charges when a prisoner refuses to provide a sample on those grounds.444WContamination of the sample by menstrual blood is a possibility. If contamination of a sample by blood occurs, the sample is sent to the laboratory for advice on whether it can still be analysed. Statistics on samples spoiled by menstrual blood are not kept, however only 1.5% of samples from female establishments are declared spoiled for any reason, including damage in transit, dilution or adulteration by other substances.
§ Mr. CallaghanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug searchers in Her Majesty's prisons have resulted in finds in 1994 and 1995; and if he will make a statement. [5892]
§ 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.
Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr Jim Callaghan, dated 29 November 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about drug searchers.In 1994, of the drug finds reported to Prison Service Headquarters, 5355 were as the result of searchers. In 1995 this figure was 7197.
§ Mr. HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the expenditure per month per prison on drug rehabilitation since March. [6273]
§ 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.
Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 November 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about expenditure on drug rehabilitation in each prison per month since March.This information is not collected centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 13 November,Official Report, column 233, (1) if he will list (a) the number of prisoners tested for drugs while on risk assessment each month since March and (b) the number of these who have tested positive for each type of drug, in each month since March; [6277]
(2) if he will list (a) the number of prisoners randomly tested for drugs each month since March and (b) the number who have tested positive for each type of drug, in each month since March; [6275]
(3) if he will list (a) the number of prisoners tested for drugs on reception each month since March and (b) the number of these prisoners who have tested positive for each type of drug, in each month since March; [6279]
(4) if he will list (a) the number of prisoners tested for drugs while on frequent testing each month since March and (b) the number of these who have tested positive for each type of drug, in each month since March; [6278]
(5) if he will list (a) the number of prisoners tested for drugs on suspicion each month since March and (b) the number of these who have tested positive for each type of drug, in each month since March; [6276]
445W(6) if he will list (a) the number of prisoners voluntarily tested for drugs each month since March and (b) the number of these who have tested positive for each type of drug, in each month since March. [6280]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for these matters 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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 November 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions about (a) the number of prisoners tested for drugs while on risk
Table A: Prison service drug testing: Number of prisoners tested each month by test type, March to September 1996 Month Risk assessment Frequent testing On reception Random On suspicion Voluntary March 244 126 55 4,445 1,050 560 April 221 123 33 4,439 1,045 553 May 284 156 52 4,682 1,029 738 June 271 157 53 4,666 892 722 July 317 181 65 4,823 1,179 865 August 235 130 49 4,558 902 720 September 338 187 33 4,661 921 603 Total 1,910 1,060 340 32,336 7,018 4,761 446W
Table B: Mandatory drug testing system usage percentage by drug group
Period from 1 March 1996 to 30 September 1996 Drug group April May June July August September October November December January February March Over all Risk assessment Cannabis 13.57 12.32 11.81 12.30 10.64 12.72 — — — — — 11.89 12.20 Opiates 5.43 4.93 5.17 5.99 3.83 6.51 — — — — — 3.69 5.18 Cocaine — — — — 0.85 1.18 — — — — — — 0.31 Benzodiazepines — 3.52 1.11 1.26 1.70 0.89 — — — — — 0.82 1.36 Methadone 0.45 0.70 0.37 0.63 — 0.59 — — — — — — 0.42 Amphetamines — — — — 0.43 0.30 — — — — — — 0.10 Barbiturates — — — — — — — — — — — — — LSD — — — — — — — — — — — — — Frequent test program Cannabis 26.83 32.05 28.66 25.41 31.54 23.53 — — — — — 37.30 28.87 Opiates 7.32 12.82 10.83 16.57 18.46 12.83 — — — — — 12.70 13.21 Cocaine — 0.64 — 0.55 — — — — — — — 0.79 0.28 Benzodiazepines 4.07 5.13 2.55 1.66 3.08 0.53 — — — — — 1.59 2.55 Methadone 0.81 0.64 0.64 1.10 — — — — — — — — 0.47 Amphetamines — — — — — 0.53 — — — — — 0.79 0.19 Barbiturates — — — — — — — — — — — — — LSD — 0.64 — — — — — — — — — — 0.09 On reception Cannabis 39.39 25.00 30.19 36.92 28.57 15.15 — — — — — 38.18 31.18 Opiates 30.30 26.92 5.66 18.46 24.49 6.06 — — — — — 10.91 17.35 Cocaine 6.06 1.92 1.89 — 4.08 — — — — — — 1.82 2.06 Benzodiazepines 12.12 1.92 7.55 7.69 10.20 — — — — — — 5.45 6.47 Methadone 6.06 5.77 1.89 3.08 — — — — — — — 1.82 2.65 Amphetamines — 1.92 — — — — — — — — — — 0.29 Barbiturates — — — — — — — — — — — — — LSD — — — — — — — — — — — — — Random drug testing Cannabis 20.86 19.74 18.54 19.29 19.61 19.72 — — — — — 25.97 20.49 Opiates 5.24 5.42 4.89 6.22 6.03 6.35 — — — — — 5.01 5.60 Cocaine 0.16 0.28 0.23 0.17 0.29 0.26 — — — — — 0.11 0.21 Benzodiazepines 1.46 2.28 2.11 1.57 1.56 1.59 — — — — — 0.88 1.64 Methadone 0.18 0.23 0.21 0.25 0.26 0.24 — — — — — 0.18 0.22 Amphetamines 0.20 0.19 0.19 0.14 0.22 0.24 — — — — — 0.27 0.21 Barbiturates 0.05 0.04 0.09 0.08 — 0.09 — — — — — 0.02 0.05 LSD — — — — — — — — — — — — — Suspicion Cannabis 40.38 37.90 36.32 38.76 36.47 37.46 — — — — — 50.38 39.84 Opiates 15.50 16.42 20.07 19.76 18.40 18.68 — — — — — 16.10 17.81 Cocaine 0.67 0.49 1.23 0.51 0.89 0.33 — — — — — 0.57 0.66 assessment, randomly, on reception, on suspicion and voluntarily each month since March and (b) the number of prisoners who have tested positive for each type of drug, in each month since March.The figures requested are given in the accompanying tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library.Table A sets out the numbers tested by test type in each month between March and September. Data for October is provisional. Table B shows the percentage of samples which have tested positive for each type of drug in each month between March and September by test type. Percentages rather than numbers positive are given as this is a more meaningful indicator. Accordingly, the mandatory drug testing database is configured to produce reports in this format. Conversion of the percentages into figures could only be done at disproportionate cost.447W
Table B: Mandatory drug testing system usage percentage by drug group
Period from 1 March 1996 to 30 September 1996 Drug group April May June July August September October November December January February March Over all Benzodiazepines 5.45 5.93 6.05 5.17 5.21 5.10 — — — — — 5.81 5.53 Methadone 1.05 0.68 0.67 0.68 0.44 1.63 — — — — — 0.57 0.81 Amphetamines 0.29 0.78 0.11 0.08 0.22 0.11 — — — — — 0.29 0.27 Barbiturates — — — — 0.11 — — — — — — 0.10 0.03 LSD — — — — — 0.11 — — — — — — 0.01 Voluntary Cannabis 11.39 10.70 13.71 14.22 14.03 9.29 — — — — — 15.71 12.79 Opiates 10.31 5.83 10.39 9.25 6.67 7.13 — — — — — 8.75 8.30 Cocaine 0.18 0.27 0.28 0.23 0.97 0.33 — — — — — — 0.34 Benzodiazepines 1.63 2.98 3.46 2.77 1.67 2.65 — — — — — 1.61 2.46 Methadone 0.18 1.08 0.55 0.35 0.42 0.66 — — — — — 0.36 0.53 Amphetamines 0.54 0.41 0.28 0.23 0.28 0.50 — — — — — — 0.32 Barbiturates — 0.14 — — — — — — — — — — 0.02 LSD — — — — — — — — — — — — — Report for all areas, all establishments and all categories.
Ethnic group: All groups.
Sex: All.
§ Mr. HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners, who have tested positive for opiates each month since March, are suspected to have tested positive due to their consumption of(a) commercially available opiate-based analgesics and (b) opiates which contravene the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; [6252]
(2) what plans he has to introduce drug tests in the Prison Service to distinguish between different forms of opiates. [6251]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for these matters 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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 November 1996:
448WThe Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions about the number of prisoners who have tested positive for opiate-based analgesics and for opiates which contravene the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and whether there are plans to introduce drug tests that can distinguish between different forms of opiates.The screening tests used by the Prison service do not distinguish between different types of opiate because there is no need for them to do so. If it is suspected that a positive screening result was due to prescribed medication, a more sophisticated confirmation test is required to determine whether the positive result was caused by a therapeutic dose of prescribed medication.The confirmation test used by the Prison Service is capable of distinguishing between codeine (which is found in many medications), six-acetylmorphine (the active constituent of heroin), and morphine. Six-acetylmorphine is detectable in urine for only a short time after use, before breaking down completely into morphine. Codeine also breaks down into morphine, but traces of the codeine persist until there is insufficient of either drug to cause a positive result. Therefore, a sample positive only for morphine can be attributed to misuse of an illicit drug. An analysis of the proportion of morphine to codeine, where both are present, will indicate whether a positive result is due to medication or to both medication and an illicit drug.The attached table shows the number of samples which have confirmation tested positive for the different opiates in each month between March and September this year. Legitimate use of prescribed medication is not regarded as a positive test result and hence is not included in this table.
Breakdown of positive confirmation tests by opiates type, all types of prison drug testing, March to September 1996
Month Samples tested Morphine Codeine 6-Acetylmorphine March 237 40 31 30 April 225 41 40 29 May 315 46 38 29 June 336 115 51 41 July 344 200 47 54 August 272 158 40 34 September 291 189 43 35 The introduction of hydrolysis on July 2 has allowed the detection of opiates in a more degraded state. Since both codeine and 6-acetylmorphine breakdown into morphine, a sharp increase in morphine positives was to be expected. This affects the June figures because many samples collected in that month would not have been confirmation tested until July.
§ Mr. HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the average number of hours spent by prisoners in rehabilitation aimed at addressing drug use in each prison for each month since March; [6271]
(2) if he will list the average number of hours spent by prisoners in rehabilitation aimed at addressing drug use in each prison who have tested positive for drug use in each prison for each month since March. [6272]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for these matters 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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 November 1996:
449WThe Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions about time spent by prisoners in drug rehabilitation.The information is not available in the form requested.The attached table summarises the approximate number of hours per month spent on addressing drug misuse from April to October 1996 by prison establishment. This is a preliminary analysis of information submitted by establishments since April 1996.450W
Average hours per month spent on addressing drug misuse (April-October 1996)
Prison Average hours spent on drugs detox per month Average hours spent in in-patient beds Total hours per month Acklington 89 — 89 Askham Grange 973 — 973 Bedford 306 146 452 Belmarsh 438 — 438 Birmingham 456 365 821 Blakenhurst Data not supplied Blundeston 547 — 547 Bristol 255 486 741 Brixton 730 — 730 Buckley Hall 152 — 152 Bullingdon 386 164 550 Camp Hill 730 — 730 Canterbury 242 104 346 Cardiff 1,576 182 1,758 Chelmsford 314 161 474 Doncaster 147 51 198 Dorchester 4,512 215 4,727 Drake Hall 1,042 91 1,133 Eastwood Park 378 486 865 Elmley — 38 38 Everthorpe 1,173 — 1,173 Exeter 177 112 289 Feltham — 130 130 Frankland 768 — 768 Garth 292 — 292 Gartree 2,845 730 3,575 Glen Parva 197 156 353 Gloucester 158 — 158 Grendon — 243 243 Guys Marsh 613 — 613 Highdown 253 460 713 Hindley — 195 195 Holloway — 195 195 Holloway Data not supplied Holme House 491 78 569 Hull 236 — 236 Lancaster House 225 108 332 Leeds 260 201 461 Leicester 621 50 671 Lewes 208 179 387 Lincoln 318 154 472 Lindholme 2,180 — 2,180 Littlehey 759 — 759 Liverpool 251 139 390 Long Lartin 296 — 296 Low Newton 320 42 362 Maidstone 486 — 486 Manchester 135 54 189 Moorland 2,432 292 2.724 New Hall 213 41 253 Norwich 137 64 201 Nottingham 778 608 1,386 Parkhurst — 3,891 3,891 Pentonville 3,347 203 3,549 Portland 730 — 730 Preston 180 — 180 Reading 1,596 — 1,596 Risley 282 479 761 Rochester 174 608 782 Shepton Mallet 659 — 359 Shrewsbury 105 — 105 Spring Hill 310 — 310 Stafford 1,459 730 2,189 Styal 702 182 884 Swaleside 122 86 207 Swansea 1,313 235 1,548 Verne 208 104 313 Wandsworth — 89 89 Wayland 243 — 243 Wealstun 505 — 505 Wetherby 292 — 292 Whitemoor 438 182 620 Winchester 200 93 293 Wolds 593 292 885
Average hours per month spent on addressing drug misuse (April-October 1996)
Prison Average hours spent on drugs detox per month Average hours spent in in-patient beds Total hours per month Woodhill 139 146 285 Wormwood Scrubs 306 230 536
§ Mr. HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the total number of extra clays which will be served in prison due to positive drugs tests which were taken during each month since March. [6274]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this mater 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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 November 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking him to list the total number of extra days which will be served in prison due to positive drugs tests which were taken during each month since March.This information is given in the attached table.
Unsuspended additional days awarded for all drug test offences March to October 1996 (provisional) Number of days Number of punishments March 14,455 995 April 11,770 817 May 16,175 1,115 June 13,553 962 July 15,621 1,031 August 13,249 879 September 13,409 901 October 14,122 918 March-October 112,354 7,618 1. This table includes the offences of 'unauthorised use of a controlled drug', 'refusing to provide a drug test sample' and 'falsifying a drug test sample'.
2. The 'unauthorised use of a controlled drug' offence is not exclusively provable by testing, as discovery of the physical act of drug use might also lead to the offence being proven. We are unable to distinguish between those offences discovered by testing and by other means.
3. Offences are grouped by the date of adjudication rather than the date of testing/discovery.
§ Mr. HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 13 November,Official Report, column 233, if he will list the number of multiple drug positives from a single sample for each category of drug. [6270]
451W
§ 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.
Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 November 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 number of multiple drug positives from a single sample for each category of drug.
Mandatory drug testing system Multi drug combinations report
Total samples tested 51,546 Period from 1 January 1996 to 30 September 1996 Drug group Amphetamines Barbiturates Benzodiazepines Cannabis Cocaine LSD Methadone Opiates Amphetamines — — 12 59 2 — 1 20 Barbiturates — — 4 3 — — — 3 Benzodiazepines 12 4 — 603 12 — 60 403 Cannabis 59 3 603 — 85 2 90 1,744 Cocaine 2 — 12 85 — — 5 57 LSD — — — 2 — — — — Methadone 1 — 60 90 5 — — 99 Opiates 20 3 403 1,744 57 — 99 — Report for all areas, all establishments and all categories.
Sample type: All groups.
Ethnic Group: All groups.
Sex: All.