Prisons: Illegal Drug Use

Justice – in the House of Commons at on 11 March 2025.

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Photo of Luke Evans Luke Evans Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Health and Social Care)

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of illegal drug use in prisons.

Photo of Shabana Mahmood Shabana Mahmood The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

This Government inherited prisons in crisis: overcrowded, violent and rife with drugs. If we are to have regimes that reduce reoffending and cut crime, we have to crack down on drugs in prison. To do so, we must address the supply of drugs, and prisons use a range of tactics, including X-ray body scanners and baggage scanners. We must also tackle demand. Over 80 of our prisons now have drug-free wings.

Photo of Luke Evans Luke Evans Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Health and Social Care)

Before 2021, less than 1% of seized substances contained anabolic steroids. In 2023, it was 10%, with anabolic steroids being the third most prevalent drug class detected in Scottish prisons. Will the Lord Chancellor meet me and Dr Jayasena and Dr Grant, who are national leads on the topic from Imperial College, to look at conducting research into the impact of steroids on offending and the prison population?

Photo of Shabana Mahmood Shabana Mahmood The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

I pay tribute to the hon. Member for his long record of campaigning on this particular issue. It is an important point, and I will ensure that he can meet the Prisons Minister and look at what further research might be needed in this area.

Lord Chancellor

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