Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 169
169
Deferred
High prison population and overcrowding exacerbate drug demand by limiting purposeful activity and support.
Conclusion
The high prison population and overcrowding lead to a lack of purposeful activity and poor mental health support which exacerbate the existing drivers of drug demand. Efforts to reduce demand are therefore made more challenging and complex. This undermines any chance that prisoners might have of rehabilitation as it makes avoidance almost impossible for those attempting to change. (Conclusion, Paragraph 47)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response focuses on safeguarding staff from drug exposure, outlining existing risk assessments, reporting procedures, and support systems for affected staff. It does not address the committee's conclusion regarding how high prison populations and overcrowding exacerbate drug demand by limiting purposeful activity and mental health support for prisoners.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
Accept 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.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗