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Home Office;Prison Service

Answer

Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have tested positive for drugs in each month of the last three years and of these how many have subsequently tested positive again; and if he will make a statement.[28237] Miss Widdecombe: [holding answer 8 May 1996]: Responsibility 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. Butler to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 10 May 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 prisoners who have tested positive for drugs in the last three years and how many have tested positive more than once. Mandatory drug testing (MDT) has been introduced as a phased programme since February 1995. No drug test results are available before that date. A table setting out the number of prisons in which MDT has been implemented and the number of confirmed positive random test results each month is attached. Results for other forms of mandatory drug testing are not yet centrally collated. The data available to Prison Service headquarters is supplied by the drug testing laboratory. To protect confidentiality, the laboratory is only able to identify the sample and not the prisoner who provided it. Because of this, data on prisoners who have tested positive more than once could only be supplied at a disproportionate cost by reviewing every establishment's records. Mandatory drug testing random testing programme: numbers testing positive February 1995 to February 1996 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Month Number of prisons testing at end of month Number positive 1995 February 6 78 March 7 122 April 8 127 May 8 84 June 8 113 July 8 138 August 8 57 September 15 171 October 23 195 November 43 429 December 68 601 1996 January 97 663 February 121 920 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Until October 1995 the statistics reflected all positive test results. For example, a prisoner who tested positive for both cannabis and cocaine was counted as two positive tests. Hence, the numbers of tests positive between February to September 1995 are distorted slightly upwards. Since October such multiple positives have been factored out of the statistics. Checking of statistical returns for January and February 1996 has revealed a number of errors. Error checking continues and this data must be regarded as provisional.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

28237; 277 c306W;277 c305-6W

Session

1995-96

Subjects

Drugs Prisoners Misuse Testing

Contains statistics

Yes