THE Prisons Minister has said drugs remain a “very serious” problem in Holme House jail.

Rory Stewart was responding to a question in the House of Commons by Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham.

Mr Cunningham asked: “Will the Minister please take an interest in Holme House and ensure it gets the support it needs?”

Mr Stewart replied: “Absolutely. The central problem in Holme House is not the age of the building - it is relatively modern - but the drugs.

“So the first steps we are taking are to get more scanners, sniffer dogs and staff in place. It remains a very serious problem and the connection between drugs, violence and suicides in Holme House is making it a particular area of focus for this department.”

A report by the jail’s Independent Monitoring Board, published on Monday, said Mr Stewart needed to set out what plans were in place to improve staff recruitment at Holme House.

Its annual report said staffing levels had been a cause of concern throughout last year while ready access to illicit drugs among prisoners had contributed to high levels of sickness among prison officers.

There was also a 48 per cent year-on-year increase in violent and anti-social behaviour incidents.

Secretary of State for Justice David Gauke told the same Commons debate that the Government had met and exceeded its target of recruiting an extra 2,500 staff by the end of this year with 3,101 full-time equivalent staff joining the prison workforce seven months ahead of schedule

He said: "Investing in the frontline is vital for safety, rehabilitation and security, which is why we are spending £100m a year on additional prison officers."