Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 165
165
Accepted
Significant shift towards undetected New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in prisons.
Conclusion
We are deeply concerned by the significant shift towards the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), most notably synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic opioids. Their popularity is due to their affordability, accessibility and their potency. In turning to these drugs, prisoners are able to “cheat the system” as current drug testing systems fail to detect them. Therefore, it is also difficult to determine precisely the number of prisoners using these dangerous substances. (Conclusion, Paragraph 32)
Government Response Summary
The government is undertaking various initiatives to improve purposeful activity in prisons, including exploring metrics, developing guidance, co-designing models, and enhancing recovery-related activities. They commit to providing an update on progress by April 2026.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Purposeful activity plays an important role in the prevention of drug use and supporting recovery within prisons. The Government remains firmly committed, as set out in our manifesto, to improving this and ensuring prisons are recognised for doing so. Although some barriers limit prisons’ ability to deliver the right level of purposeful activity, operational priorities for the 2025/26 regime set out the expectation for prisons to improve both the availability and quality of purposeful activity. We have a range of work underway to improve the quality of and access to purposeful activity. This includes exploring how we use metrics and targets to drive the right focus on both quantity and quality, developing guidance for different functions of prisons on the content of their purposeful activity offer, exploring how to reward prisons who perform well on purposeful activity, and co-designing a good practice model for regime delivery and purposeful activity via a prototype evaluation. Through the Working Week Project, we are also exploring opportunities to enhance the quality and quantity of skills and work provision in custody. This project is being prototyped in five Category C prisons. As part of the work to increase levels of purposeful activity, it is important we strengthen access to treatment. MoJ and HMPPS continue to work in partnership with NHSE to promote and facilitate purposeful activity delivered by NHS Substance Misuse Teams, including psychosocial interventions. We are also enhancing access to recovery-related activity including mutual aid within prisons: mapping fellowship activity across the estate, establishing a dedicated forum for fellowships involved in prison work, and collaborating closely to identify and remove barriers to participation. The 2025/26 regime priorities set out that prison regimes should ensure that they drive overall improvement in health and wellbeing provision alongside promoting drug/alcohol treatment and recovery opportunities. We are also exploring opportunities to better capture data on healthcare attendance and ensuring that individual’s healthcare needs are appropriately prioritised. We will provide the Committee with an update on our progress on increasing purposeful activity by April 2026.