Select Committee · Justice Committee

Tackling drugs in prisons

Status: Closed Opened: 17 Dec 2024 Closed: 22 Apr 2026 11 recommendations 30 conclusions 1 report

The Justice Committee has launched an inquiry that will examine the scale and impact of drugs in prisons in England and Wales, including the primary factors driving demand. The inquiry will consider the implications of drug misuse in prisons including safety, security, staffing and prisoner well-being. The inquiry will look into the supply of drugs …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
6th Report - Tackling the drugs crisis in our prisons HC 557 31 Oct 2025 41 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

1 item
195 Recommendation 6th Report - Tackling the drugs crisis … Rejected

Manage key OCG operators under enhanced security, segregating them from general prison population

Individuals identified as key OCG operators must be managed under enhanced security protocols and, where possible, segregated from the general prison population to prevent them from exploiting vulnerable prisoners and staff to maintain their “clean profile”. The practice of merely transferring these individuals between prisons, which leads to spikes in …

Government response. The government rejects the recommendation to segregate individuals solely based on OCG involvement, citing current legislation. However, they are commissioning work to consider how to manage regimes for SOC-linked prisoners and are undertaking a research study on debt within prisons, …
Ministry of Justice

Oral evidence sessions

2 sessions
Date Witnesses
8 Jul 2025 Matt Grey · HM Prison and Probation Service, Richard Vince CBE · HM Prison and Probation Service, The Lord Timpson OBE DL · Ministry of Justice View ↗
25 Feb 2025 Babafemi Dada · HMP Long Lartin, Charlie Taylor · HM Inspectorate of Prisons, Dame Carol Black, Elisabeth Davies · Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB), Natalie McKee · HMP Hindley, Rob Luxford · HMP Liverpool View ↗

Correspondence

1 letter
DateDirectionTitle
22 Jul 2025 Correspondence from Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing …