Mordaunt denies ‘screeching U-turn’ on festival drug testing

The Government’s position on requiring a licence for drug testing at festivals has not changed, a minister insisted, as a Labour MP hit out at a “screeching U-turn”.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Parklife music festival in Manchester was unable for the first time since 2014 to test confiscated drugs for public safety messaging, owing to a Home Office requirement for a licence.

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt said the Government’s position has not changed and that drug testing for controlled substances requires a licence.

Labour MP Sam Tarry (Ilford South) raised the issue in the Commons during a session of questions related to the business of the House.

He said: “This morning I spoke to a leading figure in the night-time and festival industry.

“Since 2014 the Home Office has allowed the testing of drugs to take (place) at many, many festivals, saving potentially hundreds of lives.

“What happened just over a month ago was a screeching U-turn from the Home Office, inexplicable to many festival organisers across the country.”

Mr Tarry added: “For me, harm reduction has got to be the focal point of organising those fantastic musical events.

Drug-testing providers must have a licence to test for controlled drugs, including at festivals

“I would like to see a debate in Government time that gets to the bottom of this inexplicable Home Office U-turn because in prior times the Home Office itself has sanctioned this activity taking place on site at festivals with Home Office branding, and in fact has even permitted GMP (Greater Manchester Police) and Avon and Somerset Police, as well as having their own forensic early-warning systems in place, to allow this stuff to take place so that people can participate and make adult informed choices about what they are going to do or not going to do, and do so in a much safer way.”

Ms Mordaunt said she recognised the issue was a “concern to other members of this House”.

She said: “Our position on this has not changed.

“Drug-testing providers must have a licence to test for controlled drugs, including at festivals.

We have not received any applications for drug testing at the major festivals this summer, and we continue to keep an open dialogue with any potential applicants

“We have always had that condition in place and made it clear. And law enforcement has always had the responsibility to uphold that legal requirement.

“We have not received any applications for drug testing at the major festivals this summer, and we continue to keep an open dialogue with any potential applicants.”

In 2018, the then-policing minister Nick Hurd said drug testing at festivals was a local operating decision for forces and the Home Office was “not standing in the way”, but he suggested further guidance could be issued.

A parliamentary committee report in 2021 called for greater legal clarity around drug testing at festivals, saying the licences to handle controlled drugs were for fixed sites only – not mobile sites such as those that would be required for festivals.

The committee said it had heard evidence that one organisation undertaking drug testing at festivals had been relying on “the police not enforcing the law against people handing over substances for testing”.

The Government will continue to support back-of-house testing on substances that have been seized as this can provide useful intelligence and enable festival organisers and other partners to implement harm-reduction measures

The report described two different types of testing, “back-of-house”, which it described as when confiscated substances were tested, and “front-of-house” which it said referred to samples being voluntarily submitted by the public for testing.

In its response to the report in August 2021, the Government said it could not support front-of-house testing until further assessments on potential unintended consequences were carried out.

But it said: “The Government will continue to support back-of-house testing on substances that have been seized as this can provide useful intelligence and enable festival organisers and other partners to implement harm-reduction measures.”

It said its licensing scheme was available for those that wished to carry out such testing.

This year, the Home Office said the testing of confiscated drugs could go ahead at festivals if the drugs were taken to a licensed site, according to The Telegraph.