Offenders: Drugs

Mr. Hoban
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders were recorded as being (a) drug free and (b) having a drug addiction on release from prison in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Hanson
A comprehensive drug treatment framework is in place in prisons to address the varying needs of low, moderate and severe drug mis-users and which encourages prisoners to stay off illegal drugs. The number of offenders recorded as drug free or having a drug addiction on release is not recorded. Research evidence however reports that post-release misuse is not as high as pre-prison usage. Research also shows that prison is one of the key influences in getting people off drugs. Overall, prison contributes to a significant reduction in drug misuse for the majority of prisoners.