Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 177
177
Deferred
Regard staff exposures to drugs as serious workplace safety violations requiring immediate investigation.
Conclusion
HMPPS must regard staff exposures to drugs as serious workplace safety violations, not as a normal part of the job and must take immediate action to investigate and resolve the causes of such incidents. (Recommendation, Paragraph 67)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response discusses tackling Serious and Organised Crime related to drone incursions and illicit mobile phones, declining to lead dedicated task forces for organised crime, rather than addressing staff exposure to drugs as a workplace safety violation.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
Safety within our prisons remains a key priority and we are committed to upholding the highest standards of protection to prevent staff exposure to drugs. To ensure this, we have a National Risk Assessment and Standard Safe System of Work (SSOW) on illicit and hazardous substances, and every suspected exposure incident is reported through the Sphera Accident Reporting System. Following a report of staff exposure, an accident investigation is initiated to establish the facts of the incident so an appropriate response can be applied to reduce the chance of recurrence. Staff are equipped to provide support to those impacted by exposure incidents and can, where appropriate, engage additional assistance through the Employee Assistance Programme or Occupational Health services to ensure comprehensive care and wellbeing support is provided for affected staff. HMPPS and NHSE will work in partnership to deliver this recommendation across healthcare and prison teams. Health staff regularly report exposure to drugs and have similar arrangements in place for reporting and accessing support from line managers and occupational health.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗