Drug Use: Prisoners

Richard Ottaway
16.  To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of levels of illegal drug use by prisoners.

Mr. Hanson
I keep the issue of drugs in prison under constant review. A comprehensive range of measures is in place to reduce the supply of drugs into prisons, with levels of drug misuse kept under regular review. The level of drug misuse, as measured by random mandatory drug testing, has reduced by 63 per cent. since the 1996-97 financial year.