Overview

The Prisons (Substance Testing) Bill amends the Prison Act 1952 to broaden the scope of substance testing in prisons, allowing for testing for a wider range of substances beyond just controlled drugs. This includes psychoactive substances, pharmacy medicines, prescription-only medicines, and other specified substances. The bill also allows for anonymized testing of prisoner samples to assess substance prevalence.

Description

This bill primarily amends Section 16A of the Prison Act 1952. Key changes include:

• Expanded Testing Scope: Prisoners can now be tested for controlled drugs, pharmacy medicines, prescription-only medicines, psychoactive substances, and other specified substances, replacing the previous focus solely on drugs.
• Anonymized Prevalence Studies: The Secretary of State gains the power to use anonymized prisoner samples to study the prevalence of these substances within prisons.
• Definition Clarification: The bill provides clear legal definitions for terms like "medicinal product," "pharmacy medicine," "prescription-only medicine," "psychoactive substance," and "specified substance," aligning them with existing legislation.
• Consequential Amendments: The bill makes consequential amendments to other related legislation, such as the Prison Rules 1999 and the Young Offender Institution Rules 2000, to reflect the broadened testing scope. This includes revoking or amending several statutory instruments related to substance testing in prisons.
• Parliamentary Approval: Any regulations made under the amended Section 16A must be approved by both Houses of Parliament.

Government Spending

The bill's impact on government spending is not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, it is likely to involve increased costs associated with expanded testing procedures, including procurement of additional testing materials and potentially increased staffing for analysis and data management.

Groups Affected

• Prisoners: Will be subject to a wider range of substance testing. This may lead to increased detection of substance use and potential disciplinary action.
• Prison Staff: May face increased workload related to the expanded testing program and subsequent management of test results.
• Healthcare Professionals in Prisons: May be involved in providing information and interpretation of test results related to medicinal products and prescription medicines.
• Researchers: May benefit from anonymized data on substance prevalence for research purposes.

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