§ Baroness Walmsleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether disinfecting equipment is made available to prisoners who use drugs intravenously; if so under which Prison Service order such provision is made; and how frequently prisoners are provided with such equipment.[HL2734]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton):Disinfecting tablets were introduced in prisons in England and Wales in September 1995 as a public health measure but were withdrawn shortly afterwards because of concerns about their safety. Following tests by the Health and Safety Executive, they were successfully reintroduced, on a trial basis, at 11 establishments in 1998–99. The Prison Service has invited tenders for a consultancy to design and implement a strategy to make disinfecting tablets available at all establishments in England and Wales over the next 12 months.