§ Mr. NichollsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mandatory drugs tests have been made on prisoners since the inception of the scheme; how many tests have proved positive; in how many cases where a positive test has arisen the prisoner has challenged the findings with legal aid; in how many cases the prisoner has been discharged from prison before his challenge to the positive test has been processed; and if he will make a statement. [7320]
§ Ms Joyce QuinBetween April 1996 and March 1997, the first year in which all establishments undertook mandatory drug tests, almost 57,700 samples were taken under the random testing programme. Of these, some 24 per cent. tested positive for drugs. Information on the number of cases in which legal aid has been granted pursuant to challenging a mandatory drug test result, and on the number of prisoners discharged before a challenge is completed, is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.