Moved by
That the Bill be now read a second time.
(Con)
My Lords, it is a privilege to move the Second Reading of
the Approved
Premises (Substance Testing) Bill, which was introduced by
my honourable friend in the other place. I am
pleased that, to date, the Bill has had a successful passage and
received support from all sides.
Noble Lords may remember a Bill that was introduced last year by
my noble friend Lady Pidding and my dear friend, the late right
honourable , which focused on improving
substance testing in prisons. It was welcomed in your Lordships’
House and has now received Royal Assent. I hope that this Bill,
which has similar aims but for Approved
Premises will be similarly supported and gain a smooth
passage.
I declare a personal interest in that I was a youth magistrate
for over 20 years. I have now retired. I saw first-hand the
destruction that drugs can cause and the path they can lead
people down. It is a sad fact that many of the children who were
before me may have ended up in Approved
Premises at some point in their adult lives, so I know how
important it is to help make them safer and more supportive
environments for rehabilitation.
Approved premises provide temporary accommodation for the
highest-risk individuals in the community, subject to supervision
or rehabilitation. They exist to ensure that these high-risk
individuals with the most complex needs receive additional,
targeted residential supervision and rehabilitative support,
following release from custody. They also provide supervision and
support for a small number of bailees and high-risk offenders
serving community sentences.
Patterns of drug misuse in both custody and the community are
changing, and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has made
repeated recommendations about the urgent need for a
comprehensive drugs strategy for the Approved
Premises estate. In recent years, psychoactive substances
have become much more prevalent within the illicit economy
in Approved Premises
Prescription medicines are also abused by some residents,
sometimes proving lethal. The use of drugs in Approved Premises can
have a significant impact on the physical and mental well-being
of individuals in both the short and the long term, and it
undermines an offender’s ability to engage in rehabilitation and
turn their back on crime.
Currently, to ensure that Approved Premises are
safe and drug-free, residents are drug tested if requested by
staff, in accordance with the house rules they are required to
accept as a condition of their residence. While this provides a
basis for drug testing, it does not set out a comprehensive
statutory framework for the testing for illicit substances, the
scope of substances that may be tested or the types of samples
that may be taken. This Bill is a response to this issue and
would enable Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service to create
a comprehensive framework and bring Approved
Premises in line with the testing regime used in
prisons.
I turn to the content of the Bill. First, it extends the range of
substances that can be tested for, in order to cover all forms of
psychoactive substances, as well as prescription and pharmacy
medicines. The Bill will also offer supportive measures that
would help probation to combat an issue that we know of, whereby
some Approved
Premises residents bully other residents for their genuinely
prescribed prescription medication. The Bill will enable offender
managers to ensure that only those supposed to be taking such
medications are taking them.
The Bill will also introduce urine testing, replacing oral fluid
testing which is currently used. There are relatively few drugs
that can be reliably detected in oral fluid. This means that the
current testing regime has reduced capacity to quickly identify
drug use among residents; as a result, residents’ needs are not
identified, and care planning cannot be managed effectively.
Moving to urine testing will allow probation to test for a wide
range of different substances for longer. Although this varies
depending on the substance being tested for, as a general rule,
substances are detectable for hours in oral fluid, whereas with
urine testing they are detectable for days.
Alongside mandatory drug testing, the Bill will provide an
express power for the use of prevalence testing in Approved Premises
using residents’ samples to test for the prevalence of various
substances on an anonymised basis. This measure is key in helping
HMPPS to understand the ever-changing drug landscape and allow it
to tackle the threat of drugs in Approved
Premises Taking appropriate action will reduce the risks to
residents and provide them with appropriate treatment and
support, which in turn will help to aid rehabilitation and
support the efforts to reduce reoffending.
In conclusion, I hope that your Lordships will recognise the
importance of implementing these changes. I believe that this
Bill will make a tangible difference. It will enable probation to
better identify and respond to new and emerging patterns of drug
use in Approved Premises and,
in turn, ensure that it can provide the necessary care and
treatment for individuals to support their rehabilitation and
prevent reoffending. I also believe that it will create more
opportunities for positive interventions on those individuals who
really need our help to become mentally and physically healthier
and go on to lead crime-free lives.
I look forward to hearing noble Lords’ contributions and hope
that the Bill will receive support across the House. I beg to
move.
1.42pm
(Lab)
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Sater. She is a
former magisterial colleague of mine; we sat in the same youth
court together for many years and we have both seen the types of
cases to which she referred in the opening part of her speech. We
in the Labour Party broadly support the Bill and welcome in
particular the attempts to identify substance abuse
in Approved Premises This
will allow the Government to respond effectively and flexibly to
the changing patterns of drug misuse.
In my 15 years as a magistrate, I have seen the types of drugs
coming to both youth courts and adult courts change multiple
times. I understand that there is a constantly changing landscape
and that testing regimes need to change to reflect that reality.
We are happy to see that this Bill is about providing assistance
with rehabilitation first, and prosecution second. Residents who
test positive for drugs will be directed to appropriate substance
misuse organisations first; if their behaviour continues,
punitive sanctions could be implemented. However, this should not
be seen as a substitute for what the Government must do: namely,
invest in treatments, harm-reduction initiatives and supportive
policies to reduce the prevalence of substance misuse in the
community.
The noble Baroness—I might say “my noble friend” in this
context—talked about urine testing. We welcome the introduction
of urine testing alongside oral fluid testing. She spoke also
about the greater range of substances that need to be tested. I
have certainly been on a number of prison visits over the years
where we have been told of the ever more imaginative ways of
getting psychoactive substances into the prison. It is a constant
battle for prison officers to try to reduce the number of these
substances getting into the premises. She also spoke about
anonymous sample testing. This is a reality of the situation, if
I can put it like that. I have certainly heard the argument that,
if the sample testing is anonymised, it is more likely to give a
realistic reflection of the drug use in the institution being
tested.
I shall say something about the background statistics, as I know
the Minister is very keen on his statistics. The figures that I
have are that, between September 2012 and August 2017, there were
46 deaths in Approved Premises and
29 of those were linked to drugs. In 2018-19, there were 20
deaths and, in 2019-20, there were 21. It is unclear how many of
those are linked to drugs, but those were deaths in Approved Premises
In 2017-18, the annual report by the Prisons and Probation
Ombudsman and the Probation Service said the use of synthetic
drugs and psychoactive substances was getting out of control and
that the problem was spreading to removal centres as well
as Approved Premises so
it is a widespread problem. I think testing is part of the
solution to that, but the real key is that the ministry has a
realistic understanding of the extent of the problem. I support
the noble Baroness’s Bill.
1.46pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice
( of Tredegar) (Con)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Sater for introducing this
important Bill today, and I thank the noble Lord, , for his
contribution to this short debate. As the only non-magistrate
speaking in this debate, I will say that it has been a pleasure
working with my noble friend on this issue. I am grateful for the
broad support from the Labour Benches. The Government fully
support the Bill. As with the complementary Prisons (Substance
Testing) Bill that received Royal Assent last year, I hope this
Bill receives unequivocal support across the House.
This Government are committed to tackling the causes of
reoffending to keep our communities safe. We have heard some
statistics; I shall add a couple more that I think underpin the
need for the Bill. About 80% of crimes for which a caution or a
conviction ensues are committed by repeat offenders, while around
62% of prisoners have either an alcohol or drugs need, or both.
If you put those two statistics together, the case for the Bill
is essentially made out.
We know that maintaining treatment for prison leavers is crucial
to reducing reoffending. In December last year, we published our
landmark cross-government drugs strategy, which represents an
ambitious 10-year commitment to work across government to address
illegal drug use, including increased and enhanced testing in
prisons and Approved Premises The
strategy is underpinned by a record investment of nearly £900
million of additional funding over the next three-year spending
review period. That will take the total investment in combating
drugs over the next three years to £3 billion.
As the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, noted, the commitment has to go
beyond only treatment. We know that people who suffer from
addiction also have multiple and complex needs for which they
also need support, and we are leading the world in delivering a
joined-up package across treatment, accommodation and employment.
The Bill will allow us to deliver further on the commitments set
out in the Government’s drugs strategy and ensure that every
offender has access to treatment and support, enabling them to
turn their backs on crime. It will ensure that we can understand
and react quickly to the changing patterns of drug use that exist
in Approved Premises and
hamper an individual’s chances of rehabilitation.
As my noble friend set out, the Bill will implement a
comprehensive drug-testing framework, enabling mandatory drug
testing for psychoactive substances together with prescription
and pharmacy medicines. Supported by the change to urine testing,
this will enable us to test reliably for a wide number of
different substances and for longer.
In addition, as the House has heard, the Bill also puts
prevalence testing on a firmer statutory basis. That will improve
our ability to identify emerging trends and ensure that we are
able to react quickly. These combined measures will help us to
tackle the use of drugs in Approved Premises and
ensure that staff can respond effectively and implement the
necessary treatment but also care planning.
The Bill will ensure consistency of testing and treatment from
prison to the community, and will be vital in ensuring
that Approved Premises are
safe and drug-free, and that the risk of serious harm is reduced
for the individual as well as for other residents and the wider
public.
I conclude by again thanking my noble friend Lady Sater for
introducing the Bill. The benefits of this legislation are clear
to see, and I very much hope that this House will endorse and
support the Bill.
1.50pm
(Con)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his support and his
comments on the importance of follow-up with treatment and
support for the residents in Approved
Premises I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, from
the Opposition Front Bench, whom I would also call my friend.
The Bill will enable Approved
Premises better to identify and respond to drug use and, in
turn, help provide the appropriate care and treatment for
individuals on their path to rehabilitation and efforts to reduce
reoffending.
Finally, I thank the clerks and the officials at the MoJ for
their excellent guidance and advice on procedure during the
preparation of the Bill.
Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole
House.
