The Earl of Haddingtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of all reports and research which have been commissioned for or by them into the availability of sterilising tablets for prisoners in Scottish prisons; how many tablets, of what dosage and chemical make up, have been issued in each of the last nine years to each of Her Majesty's prisons; and whether they will also place in the Library copies of each prison authority's dispensing records. [HL1272]
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe Scottish Prison Service has not commissioned research into the availability of disinfecting tablets. Disinfecting tablets for prisoners have been available in Scottish prisons since December 1993. Prior to January 1997, disinfecting tablets were purchased locally, and no central records are available. After that date, the numbers purchased centrally were:
- January to March 1997 178, 944 tablets
- April 1997 to March 1998 683, 520 tablets
- April 1998 to February 1999 807, 936 tablets
Disinfecting tablets were introduced in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales for a brief period in 1995 but were withdrawn following safety concerns. Disinfecting tablets were reintroduced on a limited pilot basis in 1998.
A pilot scheme has been operating between July 1998 and February 1999 at 11 selected prisons and is the subject of an evaluation by an independent academic team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In the course of the pilot, approximately 285, 000 tablets were purchased.
Disinfecting tablets are not available in prisons in Northern Ireland.
The active ingredient in the disinfecting tablets issued in prisons in Scotland and in England and Wales is sodium di-chloroisocyanurate, used as a solution by
Prisoners with HIV, AIDS and Hepatitis England and Wales 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Acute Hepatitis A 31 11 13 14 21 19 15 7 9 — Acute Hepatitis B 105 56 22 22 37 53 66 67 46 98 Chronic Hepatitis B 242 134 161 91 90 93 109 135 115 148 Acute Hepatitis C — — — — — — 102 214 135 103 Chronic Hepatitis C — — — — — — — 329 625 813 HIV — — — 149 157 156 170 262 2123 2177 AIDS — — — — — — — — — 13 1Total of known HIV+ inmates at 31 March. 2Total number of HIV tests which were positive. Information on cases of acute hepatitis A is no longer collected.
4WA
Northern Ireland (not including Belfast Prison which closed in April 1996) 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 Hepatitis B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Hepatitis C 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 3 HIV 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 dissolving one or more tablets in half a mug of cold water according to guidance given by the respective manufacturers, which is reflected in information given to prisoners.
There are no dispensing records as disinfecting tablets are not a pharmaceutical product requiring a prescription.