HC Deb 13 July 1998 vol 316 c55W
Dr. Iddon

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the results of random drug tests in prisons. [48410]

Mr. George Howarth

There has been a reduction in the percentage of random mandatory drug test samples testing positive for drugs, from 24.4 per cent. in 1996/97

to

20.8 per cent. in 1997/98. This reduction is a welcome indication of the Prison Service's success in reducing the level of drug misuse in prisons.