HMP Holme House will not be one of the prisons where pilots will be carried out on extended measures to combat drugs activity. Despite lobbying the Government on this issue, the Justice Secretary has decided that the Stockton prison will not be one of the 10 prisons included in the trial.
The confirmation from the Government was received by Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham following the Justice Secretary’s visit to Holme House last week. Whilst visiting the prison, the Minister talked of prioritising measures at Holme House prison to combat drugs – but unfortunately not enough to make HMP Holme House one of the prisons to take part in the pilot for enhanced anti-drug measures.
Holme House has been hit with a number of problems recently, including a shortage of fully-trained prison officers and the prominence of ‘zombie drug’ commonly referred to as Spice. Alex has written to the Government and lobbied Ministers for months on end regarding the situation at Holme House, but with limited success.
Speaking upon receiving the letter, Alex said:
“It is disappointing that a prison such as Holme House that is in desperate need for better measures to tackle drugs has been side-lined and won’t be one of the ten that will be included in the pilot, particularly after the Justice Secretary visited to see the problems first hand.
“I will not stop lobbying the Government to do more in regards to Holme House, not only to tackle drugs but to ensure our prisons are fully and appropriately staffed.
“I do welcome the installation of the scanners which I had been pressing for some time, and I hope that they start to have an impact.”
