House of Commons
Friday 2 July 1999
The House met at half-past Nine o'clock
PRAYERS
[Madam Speaker in the Chair]
PETITIONS
Genetically Modified Food
9.33 am
Mrs. Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): I should like to present the petition of my young constituent Jake Steel, aged nine, and others.
The petition declares:
The final petition is the humble petition of Rodney Howlett, on European matters.
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.--[Mr. Betts.]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Dr. Jack Cunningham):
I am pleased to open this debate on drug misuse. The misuse of drugs is a matter of great concern to many of us, and to our constituents and their families, who suffer the consequences.
The Government are determined actively to tackle drugs misuse. In our first year, we appointed Keith Hellawell as the United Kingdom anti-drugs co-ordinator to give coherence to drug-related policy making across all Departments. Last year, we published a White Paper, "Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain", which sets out our 10-year strategy to reduce drug misuse, and the consequences of drug misuse for society.
The strategy acknowledges, for the first time, the link between drug misuse and social conditions, and the need to tackle the whole range of social problems. The strategy sets targets--based on evidence and experience--for reducing drug misuse, and combines a commitment to firm enforcement with programmes enabling offenders to tackle their drug problems. It also focuses new money on treatment programmes that work, and new ways of getting those with drug problems in touch with those operating the programmes.
Last month, I announced to the House the publication of the United Kingdom anti-drugs co-ordinator's first annual report and national plan. We are now moving into the most vital stage of the process: delivering results. I do not delude myself that that will be an easy task, but I am confident that we can succeed. My confidence stems from the knowledge that we have laid firm foundations upon which we can build and develop the programmes.
The key principles of our strategy are integrated policy making based firmly on evidence; an increased focus on outcomes, with objectives; and better accountability and evaluation mechanisms to ensure that progress is monitored effectively.
Following on from the strategy, the public service agreement on drugs binds all relevant Government Departments to work together to deliver a reduction in the proportion of people under 25 misusing illegal drugs; a reduction in the level of re-offending by drug-misusing offenders; an increase in participation of problem drugs misusers, including prisoners, in drug treatment programmes, which have a positive impact on health and in reducing crime; and a reduction in access to drugs for young people.
We shall also play our part in supporting global actions that seek to reduce not only the supply of drugs, but the demand for drugs. We are helping to take forward the agreements reached, in June 1998, at the United Nations General Assembly special session in New York.
We had to ensure that our strategy's framework for action was backed up by appropriate resources. Therefore, as part of the comprehensive spending review, an additional £217 million has been made available across Government.
As I announced in the House last month, further support for the strategy will be provided by channelling the assets seized from convicted drug dealers back into
action against those people and against drugs. The sum, £3 million this year, should rise to £5 million in the subsequent financial year, and to £7 million in the following year, bringing an additional £15 million--perhaps more; who knows--in that three-year period to bear in our action against drug traffickers and drug dealers.
With the strategic vision in place, and resources allocated to support it, the next step was to set targets--which I acknowledge are hard targets--challenging all of us to redouble our efforts to fight drugs problems. Keith Hellawell's first annual report and national plan did just that--setting targets for the short, medium and long term.
For the first time, Departments and agencies, nationally and locally, are being brought together to work in partnership towards joint performance targets. The focus is very much on results and working together. Between now and 2002, all departmental and agency resources and activities against drugs will increasingly be redirected towards those and associated targets, as provided in the national plan.
Co-ordination of the efforts of national Departments and agencies is essential, but no less vital is the role of drug action teams in co-ordinating local activities. I am sure that others here today would join me in paying tribute to the work of drug action team members and co-ordinators across the country. They are an essential part of the fight against drug misuse. Ultimately, the success of our strategy will depend on the success of drug action teams in addressing the specific drug problems in their areas.
This year, for the first time, an audit has been undertaken of the work of drug action teams across the country, with reports to the UK anti-drugs co-ordinator using a common template. This showed that there is a great deal of activity already under way. It showed also that there is a clear need to provide further support and advice to drug action teams.
To this end, the Government established the new drug prevention advisory service, which has officers in every region of the country. The advisory service will be an additional resource which teams can draw on as they go about what we all acknowledge is a difficult task.
When I announced the publication of the co-ordinator's report and plan, some Members expressed doubts about whether the course that we had chosen would, or could, work. One concern that was expressed was that our targets were unmeasurable because we did not have comprehensive and robust data. That is an important point. We all recognise that we could do with better, more robust and more comprehensive data.
The Government are determined to rectify that situation. That is why we shall be spending an extra £6 million over the next three years to help fund a major new research programme to establish accurate baselines and to evaluate programmes of activity. We need more knowledge and understanding of what is happening on our streets and in our communities.
We are putting in place better information systems to show more definitely what the drug problems are, what works best against them and what is cost-effective. The research programme will establish the hard baselines
against which we can better measure our progress and success. I firmly believe that we can succeed in reducing drug use. There is some evidence that the action that we are pursuing is having a positive impact.
Members will be aware of the national treatment outcome research study--usually known as NTORS--which is one of the biggest surveys of its kind in the world. The study follows the lives of 1,100 drug misusers. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Public Health recently announced the findings of the two-year follow-up study on a group of long-term, severely dependent users of heroin and other drugs, who were treated in residential and community-based settings.
This group had a range of social and other problems, both psychological and physical, and extremely high rates of criminal behaviour. Early findings, based on a follow-up at six months and one year, showed that many of them had achieved substantial reductions in substance misuse and improvements in other problem behaviours.
"The introduction of GM food would have a disastrous effect on the environment and be a health hazard. The Petitioner therefore requests that the House of Commons urges the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to call for a ban on all Genetically Modified Foods and Crops in the United Kingdom and for a thorough independent investigation into GM foods."
I should like to present two other petitions. The first is from one of my constituents, Mrs. Louise Bradbury, Healthright, Holland and Barrett, and others on the classification of health products by the Medicines Control Agency.
9.34 am
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |