Overview

This bill amends the Prison Act 1952 to broaden the scope of substance testing in prisons. It allows for testing of prisoners for a wider range of substances beyond just controlled drugs, including psychoactive substances, pharmacy medicines, and prescription-only medicines. The bill also enables anonymous testing of samples to assess substance prevalence within prisons.

Description

The key changes introduced by this bill are:

• Expanded Testing Scope: The bill expands the types of substances that prison authorities can test for in prisoners. This includes controlled drugs, psychoactive substances (as defined by the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016), pharmacy medicines, and prescription-only medicines. A new category of "specified substances" is also introduced.
• Anonymous Prevalence Studies: The Secretary of State is given the power to conduct anonymous testing of prisoner samples to assess the prevalence of various substances within prisons.
• Definition Changes: The bill clarifies definitions related to various substances and amends existing legislation to reflect the broader testing scope. It updates terminology and removes outdated references to "specified drugs."
• 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 align with the expanded substance testing provisions.
• Regulatory Power: The Secretary of State is granted power to make regulations to amend the Act and other related subordinate legislation regarding the human medicines regulations.
• Parliamentary Approval: Any statutory instruments made under these new powers require approval from both Houses of Parliament.
• Revocation of Instruments: The bill revokes several previous statutory instruments related to substance testing in prisons.

Government Spending

The bill does not specify direct financial implications. However, there will likely be some costs associated with implementing the expanded testing program, potentially including procurement of additional testing equipment and training for prison staff.

Groups Affected

• Prisoners: Will be subject to a broader range of substance testing.
• Prison Staff: Will be involved in the implementation of the expanded testing procedures and may require additional training.
• Secretary of State: Gains new powers to regulate and oversee the testing processes and prevalence studies.
• Parliament: Will have oversight of the regulations made by the Secretary of State under this legislation.

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