Section 1: Substance testing of residents in Approved Premises
- Section 1 makes provision for substance testing and prevalence testing through amendments to the Offender Management Act 2007.
- Section 1(3) inserts a new section 13A into the 2007 Act.
- Subsection (1) of that new section provides the manager of an Approved Premises may give an authorisation that sets out when the express power to drug test residents may be exercised and that such authorisation is in force. Subsection (2) contains that express power, providing that in accordance with any authorisation given, a member of Approved Premises staff may require a resident provide a sample of urine for the purpose of ascertaining whether the resident has in their body a "controlled drug", "prescription only medicine" or "psychoactive substance". Subsection (3) provides that instead or in addition to a sample of urine, a sample of another description may be required, provided that is not an "intimate sample", such as saliva.
- Subsection (4) makes provision for anonymised prevalence testing by the Secretary of State of samples provided pursuant to subsection (2) or (3) or voluntarily, which can be used to test for "controlled drugs", "medicinal products" and "psychoactive substances".
- Subsections (5) and (6) provide that in giving an authorisation or exercising the drug testing power, Approved Premises managers and members of staff (respectively) must have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State on such matters.
- Subsection (7) defines terms used within that section 13A. Those include "controlled drug", defined by reference to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, "intimate sample" by reference to Part 5 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, "medicinal product" and "prescription only medicine" by reference to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and "psychoactive substance" by reference to the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.
- Subsection (8) makes provision in case there is any future change in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 or other subordinate legislation relating to human medicines. In those circumstances, the subsection confers a regulation making power for the Secretary of State to make such consequential changes as are necessary to section 13A of the 2007 Act. Subsection (9) clarifies that "subordinate legislation" has the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act 1978.
- Section 1(4) makes provision, through amendment to section 36 (orders and regulations) of the 2007 Act, for any regulations made under the new section 13A(8) to be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure in Parliament.
