MoJ and HMPPS 260305036 response 18 March 2026

JBD request: 5 March 2026 · JBD filing reference: FoI_2A_HMPPS · Authority case reference: 260305036

Authority case reference: 260305036

Operational handling and outcomes

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Pete Lindsay 
pete.lindsay@justicebydesign.org.uk 
 
 
Disclosure Team 
Ministry of Justice 
102 Petty France  
London 
SW1H 9AJ 
 
data.access@justice.gov.uk 
 
18 March 2026 
 
Dear Mr Lindsay  
 
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request – 260305036 
 
Thank you for your request dated 5 March 2026 in which you asked for the following 
information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):   
 
1. Custody and Prison Guidance - In relation to custody and prison 
operational standards, please provide any nationally issued written 
guidance addressing handling of prescribed CBPMs.  
 
2. Continuation and Withholding - In relation to custody healthcare 
management, please provide any written guidance addressing 
continuation, substitution, or discontinuation of prescribed CBPMs. 
FoI_2A_HMPPS 05/03/2026  
 
3. Verification Standards - In relation to verification of prescribed CBPMs 
within custody or prison healthcare settings, please provide any written 
guidance identifying documentation regarded as sufficient to confirm that 
a cannabis-based product for medicinal use has been lawfully prescribed.  
 
4. Escalation Thresholds - In relation to referral to external enforcement 
bodies, please provide any written guidance addressing circumstances in 
which police involvement may be considered.  
 
5. Governance - Please provide recorded information setting out ownership 
and review mechanisms applicable to CBPM-related operational guidance. 
 
Your request has been handled under the FOIA. 
The MoJ does not hold any information in the scope of your request. This is because 
we are not the appropriate authority to contact on this subject. Healthcare in prisons 
in England and Wales is the responsibility of the National Health Service (NHS). 
Therefore, where you are asking for information about healthcare services and 
clinical appointments, you should address your questions to the NHS as they may 
hold some of the information you requested.

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The contact details for NHS England are: 
 
NHS England 
PO Box 16738 
Redditch 
B97 9PT  
 
Email: england.contactus@nhs.net 
 
More information about NHS England FOI requests is available via the following link: 
 
https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/foi/ 
 
To request this information for prisons in Wales, you should direct your enquiry to 
Public Health Wales, using the following email address: 
 
foi.phw@wales.nhs.uk 
 
More information about Public Health Wales FOI requests is available via the 
following link:  
 
https://phw.nhs.wales/use-of-site/contact-us/freedom-of-information/ 
 
 
The FOIA does not oblige a public authority to create information to answer a 
request if the requested information is not held. The duty is to only provide the 
recorded information held. 
 
Appeal Rights  
 
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to request an internal 
review by responding in writing to one of the addresses below within 40 working 
days of the date of this response.  
 
data.access@justice.gov.uk 
 
Disclosure Team, Ministry of Justice, Postal Point 5.22, 102 Petty France, London, 
SW1H 9AJ 
 
You do have the right to ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to 
investigate any aspect of your complaint. However, please note that the ICO is likely 
to expect internal complaints procedures to have been exhausted before beginning 
their investigation. 
 
Yours sincerely  
 
HMPPS Briefing & Correspondence Team