Vol. 811 Friday No. 216 16 April 2021 PARLIAMENTARYDEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDEROFBUSINESS Prisons (Substance Testing) Bill Second Reading.............................................................................................................1545 Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Bill Second Reading.............................................................................................................1563 Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill Second Reading.............................................................................................................1582 Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Bill Committee ....................................................................................................................1607 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2021-04-16 In Hybrid sittings, [V] after a Member’s name indicates that they contributed by video call. The following abbreviations are used to show a Member’s party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Ind UU Independent Ulster Unionist Lab Labour Lab Co-op Labour and Co-operative Party LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2021, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1545 Arrangement of Business[16 APRIL 2021] Prisons (Substance Testing) Bill 1546 House of Lords I also pay tribute to Richard Holden MP, who efficiently and smoothly guided this Bill through its Friday 16 April 2021 various stages on her behalf. The Bill had a successful passage and received unqualified support from all The House met in a hybrid proceeding. sides in the other place. I trust that it will be similarly welcomed and supported in your Lordships’ House. It 11 am would make our prisons and young offender institutions safer, more secure and, ultimately, better environments Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Gloucester. for rehabilitation. The misuse of drugs is one of the biggest challenges faced by our prisons and young offender institutions. Arrangement of Business A survey by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons in Announcement 2019-20 showed that 40% of female prisoners and 45% of male prisoners found it quite easy or very easy 11.05 am to get drugs in prisons. Psychoactive drugs and the misuse of prescription-only medicines and pharmacy The Deputy Speaker (Lord Lexden) (Con): My Lords, medicines in particular are a relatively new problem the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now begin. Some for our prisons and young offender institutions, but Members are here in the Chamber,others are participating they are a growing and dangerous problem. We must remotely, but all Members will be treated equally. I ask take further action to identify prisoners and young all Members to respect social distancing. If the capacity offenders with substance misuse issues and ensure that of the Chamber is exceeded, I will immediately adjourn they are offered the appropriate treatment. The Bill the House. would boost the capability of prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales to test for the use of illicit substances and would make key progress in Prisons (Substance Testing) Bill combating the prevalence of drugs in prisons. Second Reading Members in both Houses are well aware of the scourge of drugs both in prisons and out in the wider 11.06 am community. The scale of the problem with drugs in Moved by Baroness Pidding prisons is demonstrated by the available data. In the year to March 2020, there were almost 22,000 incidents That the Bill be now read a second time. of drug finds in prisons in England and Wales alone. Relevant document: 37th Report from the Delegated The highest number of incidents was over the past Powers Committee decade, with 182 kilogrammes of illicit drugs being recovered. Baroness Pidding (Con): My Lords, it is my privilege Drug use drives the increasing violence that we have to move the Second Reading of the Prisons (Substance seen in prisons. Debts are enforced, discharged or Testing) Bill, which was introduced by the right honourable avoided through assaults on other prisoners or staff Dame Cheryl Gillan in the other place. Members and incidents of self-harm. This is our chance to make across the House will be aware of the news that Dame a productive change to the prison drug testing framework, Cheryl sadly passed away earlier this month. I hope ensure that those with substance misuse issues are that noble Lords will understand my wish to take a referred to the appropriate treatment and disrupt few moments to reflect on this immense loss. I speak continued violence within our prisons and young offender as someone who counted Dame Cheryl as one of my institutions. dearest friends. I had the privilege of knowing her for The Prison Service and the Youth Custody Service 30 years, from when I took part in her selection by the currently have the legal authority to test for controlled Chesham and Amersham Conservative Association in drugs, as defined under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, my role as Young Conservatives chairman through to and specified substances listed in Schedule 2 to the now as president of that same association. Prison Rules 1999 and Young Offender Institution I want to pay tribute to Dame Cheryl’s remarkable Rules 2000. In order to add a new drug to the list of career. She was the longest-serving woman MP on the specified substances, the Government need to individually Conservative Benches, but she was so much more than add each and every new compound to it through that. She was kind, empathetic, bright, tenacious,articulate secondary legislation. That process is resource-intensive and knowledgeable, and, as one of her former and inefficient. Most importantly, it causes operational parliamentary colleagues said, she knew what being a delays for prisons and young offender institutions, colleague was all about. Cheryl was a remarkable limiting their ability to deal with emergency healthcare parliamentarian and one who had a reach beyond any cases and take appropriate disciplinary action. Despite one political party. She was a great advocate for her the Prison Service and the Youth Custody Service constituents and will be sorely missed. My condolences updating the list at regular intervals, ill-intentioned go to Dame Cheryl’s family, friends and staff. I pay drug manufacturers and chemical experts are able to respects to her for her commitment, passion and dedication quickly get around the law by producing modified to the excellent causes that she championed and I variations of these drugs, meaning that prisoners and hope that this Bill can represent another significant young offenders are no longer able to be tested for contribution towards an already impressive legacy. them and their use goes undetected. 1547 Prisons (Substance Testing) Bill[LORDS] Prisons (Substance Testing) Bill 1548 [BARONESS PIDDING] Having been to many prisons over the years, usually I turn to the contents of the Bill. Its response to this to consulting rooms or foyers for consultations with issue is both simple and straightforward. The Bill my clients, I never came across any suggestion of drug adopts the definition of “psychoactive substances” taking or anyone being under the influence of drugs. provided by the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, Some of the consultations in long fraud cases would which will allow the Prison Service and the Youth take the best part of a day. Things have changed. The Custody Service to test prisoners for any and all present legislation allows for the drug testing of prisoners. psychoactive substances now and in future. Similarly, The aim—perhaps it is too ambitious—is to allow no the Bill permits prisoners and young offenders to be drugs in prisons. I agree with this aim, but fear that tested for the illicit use of prescription-only medicines this is not the case at present. As the noble Baroness and pharmacy medicines as defined by the Human has explained, the amending legislation would allow Medicines Regulations 2012. The Bill also provides an the prisons to catch up with changes and developments express power for the use of prevalence testing, which, in the importation of drugs. My understanding is that through the testing of pooled and anonymised samples, there is an increased importation of psychoactive allows prisons and young offender institutions to identify substances and pharmaceutical medicines.