Drug Misuse (Prisons)
5th January 2010
David Burrowes asks if the Government has lost control of drugs in prisons and given up on prisons and prisoners becoming drug-free.
Mr. David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con): Have the Government learned anything from their evaluation last year of the integrated drug treatment system? Senior prison staff criticised the Government's obsession with maintaining opiate users. They were
Is that not a picture of a Government who have lost control of drugs in prisons, and given up on prisons and prisoners becoming drug-free?
Maria Eagle: No, I do not accept that analysis from the hon. Gentleman. It is fair to say that the drug treatment provided in prisons is clinically led under best practice arranged by the National Treatment Agency. It is the same inside prison as it is outside. It is perfectly legitimate for Members and others to question the balance of available treatment. I do not think there is a perfectly correct answer, so it is a good debate to have, but I do not accept in any way that the Government have lost control of drug treatment in prisons.
