Overview of the Act
- The purpose of the Act is to provide a clear statutory framework for Approved Premises in England and Wales to test for the use of illicit substances by residents. Approved Premises provide temporary accommodation for bailees and the highest risk offenders in the community subject to supervision or rehabilitation. The Act provides staff in Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and other agencies with information to understand the full extent and nature of substance misuse within Approved Premises, while allowing Offender Managers to take targeted and appropriate action to support residents to engage with treatment and prevent their reoffending.
- The Act makes provision for testing residents in Approved Premises for controlled drugs, psychoactive substances and prescription only medicines. The Act also contains an express power to test, on an anonymised basis, samples provided by those residents in order to better understand the prevalence of substances in Approved Premises.
