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Mr. Hawkins: I recognise and welcome the Minister's constructive comments, particularly at the end of his remarks. In the light of his helpful indication that the Government will continue to keep the matter under review, and examine the guidance to see whether more can be done, I shall seek leave to withdraw the amendment, with one proviso: the matter may be debated further in another place, and we may table an amendment with slightly different wording, to see whether by then the Government will accept it. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Clause 29
Amendments made: No. 7, in page 13, line 34, at end insert--
' "guardianship order" means a guardianship order within the meaning of the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955, the Naval Discipline Act 1957 or the Mental Health Act 1983,'.
No. 8, in page 14, line 12, leave out--
'within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983'.--[Jane Kennedy.]
Clause 32
Amendments made: No. 9, in page 16, line 4, leave out--
'within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983'.
No. 10, in page 16, line 8, at end insert--
' "guardianship order" has the same meaning as in section 29,'.--[Jane Kennedy.]
Clause 34
Amendments made: No. 11, in page 17, line 42, after "person" insert "who holds a position".
No. 12, in page 17, line 44, leave out from second "of" to end of line 45 and insert "an educational institution".
No. 13, in page 18, leave out line 11.--[Jane Kennedy.]
Clause 37
Amendments made: No. 14, in page 19, line 43, leave out from "children" to end of line 44.
No. 15, in page 20, leave out lines 1 and 2.
No. 16, in page 20, leave out lines 9 and 10.
No. 17, in page 20, leave out lines 14 and 15.
No. 18, in page 20, leave out lines 20 to 24.--[Jane Kennedy.]
Clause 41
Amendments made: No. 19, in page 23, line 37, leave out "40B below" and insert "36B above".
No. 20, in page 23, line 45, leave out from "any" to end of line 47 and insert "affected person".
No. 21, in page 24, line 2, leave out from "offender" to end of line 3 and insert--
'and the responsible officer, and
(b) give to any affected person any information relating to the order which the court considers it appropriate for him to have.'.'
No. 22, in page 24, line 4, leave out "and section 40B below".
No. 23, in page 24, line 5, at end insert--
'(12A) For the purposes of this Act, a person is an affected person in relation to an exclusion order if--
(a) a requirement under section 36B(1) above is included in the order by virtue of his consent, or
(b) a prohibition is included in the order for the purpose (or partly for the purpose) of protecting him from being approached by the offender.'.
No. 24, in page 24, leave out lines 11 to 32.
No. 25, in page 24, line 42, leave out from "orders" to "; and" in line 44.--[Jane Kennedy.]
Clause 42
Mr. Hawkins: I beg to move amendment No. 130, in page 25, line 16, after "A", insert "or Class B'
Mr. Deputy Speaker: With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 131, in page 25, line 27, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 132, in page 25, line 31, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 2, in page 25, line 32, at end insert--
'(c) the court is satisfied that an appropriate programme of drug treatment is available in the relevant area and can be provided for the offender.'.
No. 3, in page 26, line 18, at end insert--
'(d) where and when the treatment for drug abuse is to be made available to the offender.'.
No. 133, in clause 43, page 26, line 41, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 134, in clause 44, page 27, line 19, after "A" insert "or Class B".
No. 135, in page 27, line 29, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 136, in page 27, line 36, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 137, in page 27, line 38, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 145, in clause 52, page 35, line 17, after "A', insert "or Class B".
No. 146, in page 35, line 26, after "A', insert "or Class B".
No. 147, in page 36, line 23, after "A', insert "or Class B".
No. 148, in page 36, line 25, after "A', insert "or Class B".
No. 161, in clause 57, page 40, line 17, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 162, in clause 58, page 40, line 31, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 163, in clause 59, page 40, line 40, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 164, in page 40, line 42, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 165, in page 41, line 6, after "A", insert "or Class B".
No. 168, in schedule 5, page 53, line 14, after "A", insert "or Class B".
Mr. Hawkins: Although there is a lengthy list of amendments in the group, the House will realise that they are largely consequential, one on another. There is one principle at stake: we believe that in the new regime that the Government are setting out, which we debated at length in Committee, they are unwise to restrict the operation of the provisions only to class A drugs. We recognise, of course, that class A drugs are the most serious, but we believe that it would be helpful if the Government added class B drugs.
I direct the Minister's attention to research carried out by the Home Office. In 1996 and 1997, the Home Office commissioned a research project at Cambridge university into drug use by arrestees. The project took place in five contrasting areas--Sunderland, Nottingham, Manchester, Cambridge and London. With respect to the recent drug consumption of those arrested, tests showed comparatively high levels--61 per cent. of those arrested had taken at least one illegal drug, and 27 per cent. tested positive for two or more drugs. The drug that was found most often in the tests, with 46 per cent. of arrestees testing positive for it, was cannabis.
10.15 pm
We have referred earlier--not only tonight but in Committee and on Second Reading--to the fact that many hon. Members have had extensive professional dealings with drug offenders. For example, some have prosecuted or defended them, while others have dealt with them through their work as social workers, probation officers or
youth workers. However, no one who has been involved professionally can doubt that cannabis is the most prevalent drug.When considering the causes of and influences on crime, I hope that we can agree that drug use is a major factor.
Jackie Ballard: I would be interested in the hon. Gentleman's answer to two questions. Given the well documented stronger link between alcohol misuse and crimes of violence, why has not the hon. Gentleman included alcohol in the amendment? What is the evidence that cannabis is linked to crime?
Mr. Hawkins: On the hon. Lady's second question, I point to the Home Office research on drug use, which I mentioned earlier. If the hon. Lady talked to police officers who are regularly involved in drugs work, they would say that many crimes are committed by those who have taken cannabis, or in order to raise funds to feed a cannabis habit. The hon. Lady shakes her head. We know that the Liberal Democrats have held some interesting views on the legalisation of cannabis. Liberal Democrat conferences have voted for it several times. I do not know whether the hon. Lady voted for it--perhaps she will tell us.
Jackie Ballard: To set the record straight, the vote in the Liberal Democrat conference was on whether to set up a royal commission to consider drug misuse, including the possible decriminalisation of cannabis. I voted for the establishment of such a royal commission.
Mr. Hawkins: When such matters are debated, we know where the Liberal Democrats are coming from. I note that the Minister smiles. On this occasion, the hon. Lady is being disingenuous; we know the views of many leading members of her party.
Mr. Simon Hughes: At least we vote for what we believe in.
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