Question reference: S5W-34551
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 13 January 2021
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 January 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, for what reason the 2019-20 Scottish Prison Service (SPS) annual report did not record information regarding addiction prevalence testing and, if this information is no longer recorded, (a) for what reason the SPS reached this decision and (b) how the SPS will monitor the scale of drug misuse in prisons.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Addictions Prevalence Testing (APT) for Performance Measurement purposes was suspended in November 2019 and therefore not included in the latest annual report. The APT process at that point was considered to be no longer fit for purpose as it did not acknowledge the changing trends in drug taking evidenced through the Management of Risk from Substances (MoRS) Policy and drug-find results .
SPS is currently reviewing its approach with the aim of procuring a comprehensive solution which improves the validity of testing and its connection to subsequent monitoring, intervention and action. In the interim period, further investment in technology has been made to prevent the introduction of illicit articles to prisons and relevant adaptations have been made to the existing testing arrangements.