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Gammahydroxybutyrate
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to prevent the use of gammahydroxybutyrate in night clubs and pubs. [114162]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Home Office Drugs Prevention Advisory Service (DPAS) was established in April 1999, with a remit to promote effective drugs prevention and to support local Drug Action Teams in their role of delivering the aims of the Government's national anti-drugs strategy.
At a national level, DPAS works with the Department of Health and others on helping to establish the best ways and means of targeting young people with sound information about the risks of substance misuse. DPAS regional teams are well placed to engage with Drug Action Teams, local authority licensing bodies and other partnerships about approaches to tackling the problem of substance misuse in clubs and pubs, including the harmonisation of enforcement activity with local and community concerns about such misuse.
Other measures taken recently to tackle the use of drugs in clubs and similar venues include bringing into force the Public Entertainments Licences (Drug Misuse) Act 1997. It enables local authorities to close those clubs found to have a serious problem relating to the supply or use of controlled drugs. Home Office guidance has been issued to local authorities on the implementation of the Act. It is designed to encourage and develop partnerships between
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the police, licensing authorities and club operators to combat the threat posed by drugs to clubs and provide a safe environment for customers.
In November 1998, a Good Practice Guide on the Implementation of the Act was published jointly by the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Local Government Association, the British Entertainment and Discotheque Association and the United Kingdom Anti-Drugs Co-ordination Unit. Its recommendations include a range of measures to be implemented by clubs to safeguard health and safety and to discourage drug users on their premises.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total change was in the number of police officers (a) in each force in England and Wales and (b) in total since March 1997; what estimate he has made of the (i) planned recruitment to, (ii) expected wastage from and (iii) change in police numbers in police forces, including transfers, including information provided in the bids for the Crime Fighting Fund and the allocation of Crime Fighting Fund money, (1) in total and (2) in each of the next three years; and what estimate he has made of the expected change in police numbers in each force and in total between March 1997 and the end of each of the first three years of the Crime Fighting Fund; and if he will make a statement. [114700]
Mr. Charles Clarke
[holding answer 14 March 2000]: Table A shows the total change in the number of police officers in each force in England and Wales and in total from March 1997 to September 1999.
In respect of the figures for projected recruitment and wastage including transfers I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 21 February 2000, Official Report, columns 826-28W.
(1) Full-time equivalents
Note:
Figures exclude secondments
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(2) Figures supplied by forces in their bids under the crime
Note:
Fighting Fund including inter-force transfers but excluding CFF recruits
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| March | Total |
|---|---|
| Actual | |
| March 1997 | 127,158 |
| March 1998 | 126,814 |
| March 1999 | 126,096 |
| Estimated | |
| March 2000 | 124,800 |
| Projected | |
| March 2001 | 124,500 |
| March 2002 | 125,000 |
| March 2003 | 125,900 |
Note:
Figures include secondments and CFF recruits
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