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Drug Addiction Statistics
Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) registered addicts and (b) non- registered addicts of (i) cocaine and (ii) heroin there were in the UK in each of the last 10 years. [15538]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The term 'registered addict' has no generally agreed definition in the United Kingdom.
The Home Office previously collected and published information relating to individuals notified to the Addicts Index. Since the Addicts Index closed at the end of April 1997, there are no current figures from that source. However, the Department of Health publishes information on the number of persons presenting to drug misuse services for treatment in Great Britain who are reported to the Drug Misuse Databases; this includes persons with a main drug of misuse of heroin or cocaine. Figures are only available for the period April–September 1993 onwards, and are given in Table 1.
The number of addicts (including those not in treatment) is unknown. Traditionally, a multiplier method was used based on the Addicts Index. However, a more robust approach has been developed recently by a group of researchers. The findings are given in Table 2.
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Although there are estimates for problematic opiate use (which is mostly heroin-related), no information is presented for cocaine.
| Main drug of misuse | ||
|---|---|---|
| Six-month period ending | Heroin | Cocaine |
| 30 September 1993 | 8,643 | 512 |
| 31 March 1994 | 9,746 | 737 |
| 30 September 1994 | 11,191 | 783 |
| 31 March 1995 | 12,282 | 903 |
| 30 September 1995 | 13,400 | 1,074 |
| 31 March 1996 | 14,488 | 1,015 |
| 30 September 1996 | 16,621 | 894 |
| 31 March 1997 | 18,285 | 1,053 |
| 30 September 1997 | 14,749 | 959 |
| 31 March 1998 | 16,390 | 1,178 |
| 30 September 1998 | 18,994 | 1,709 |
| 31 March 1999 | 20,027 | 1,693 |
| 30 September 1999 | 21,389 | 2,153 |
| 31 March 2000 | 23,824 | 2,121 |
| 30 September 2000 | 24,759 | 2,116 |
Source:
Department of Health series of Statistical Bulletins; the most recent is "Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases for six months ending September 2000".
| Method | Form of drug use | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple indicator method | Problematic drug users | 268,253 |
| Treatment demographic method | Problematic opiate users | 162,544 |
| Treatment coverage method | Problematic opiate users | 243,820 |
| HIV multiplier | Injecting drug users | 161,200 |
| Mortality multiplier | Drug users at risk of overdose related death | 161,133 |
| Household Survey data | Opiates+ users | 251,000 |
| Household Survey data | Injecting drug users | 168,905 |
| Government estimate | Severely dependent drug misusers | 100,000–200,000 |
Source:
Table 5, Frischer M, Hickman M, Kraus L, Mariani F, and Wiessing L. (2001). 'A comparison of different methods for estimating the prevalence of problematic drug misuse in Great Britain'. Addiction, 96, 1465–1476.
Organised Crime (Russia)
Mr. Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to ensure regular Russian authority co-operation in helping to track Russian organised crime in the United Kingdom. [14726]
Mr. Denham: There has been close co-operation between law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom and Russia in recent years, which has been valuable to both parties. The United Kingdom has two bilateral agreements with Russia, both inter-agency and intergovernmental. We have a joint fiscal, crime and drugs liaison officer based in Moscow who works closely with his counterparts in Russian law enforcement agencies. Senior United Kingdom law enforcement officials regularly visit to maintain links at the highest level. Both Russia and the United Kingdom are members of the G8 Lyon Group, which focuses on transnational serious and organised crime. The United Kingdom will continue to work closely with Russia through bilateral and
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European initiatives to combat serious and organised crime originating in Russia and reduce its impact on the United Kingdom.
Crime Prevention Schemes (North-west)
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which local authorities in the north- west of England have not received funding for both CCTV and street warden schemes. [13648]
Mr. Denham: The Home Office Crime Reduction Programme Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) initiative is funding public area CCTV schemes to a potential value of £170 million across England and Wales. Bids have been assessed, using pre-formulated guidelines, to ensure they: meet national and local crime reduction priorities; are technically sound; have links to a wider package of crime reduction measures, and provide value for money. The table lists those local authority areas that submitted (as part of local crime and disorder reduction partnerships) unsuccessful bids. Some of these authorities also submitted successful bids.
The Street Warden Programme, funded by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) and run through the Neighbourhood and Street Wardens Programme (a joint Home Office/DTLR unit based in DTLR), is to provide £25 million towards a pilot programme of Street Wardens schemes across England. The programme is funded solely by DTLR. The table lists those local authority areas that submitted (or from which another body such as a Housing Association submitted) unsuccessful bids. Again some of these authorities also submitted successful bids.
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Dr. Ali Dizaei
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many telephone conversations of Dr. Ali Dizaei, legal adviser to the National Black Police Association, were (a) recorded and (b) transcribed by the investigation team; and what proportion contained legally privileged information. [13706]
Mr. Denham: I would refer the hon. Member to my letter to him of 9 November, a copy of which is in the Library.
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if surveillance of Dr. Ali Dizaei included the recording of his telephone calls with members of the media. [13711]
Mr. Denham: I refer the hon. Member to my letter to him of 9 November, which indicates that the Metropolitan police have confirmed that the practice in relation to calls made by Superintendent Dizaei was that all calls made by him on the Metropolitan police service telephone network were recorded.
Sex Offenders (Buckinghamshire)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted sex offenders are resident in the Buckingham constituency. [14206]
Beverley Hughes: Until recently data on the number of registered sex offenders were collated bi-annually on a national basis from the police national computer (PNC). The most recent national statistics concerning sex offender registration are shown in the table. However, this arrangement has been overtaken by guidance issued by the Home Office in respect of the statutory provisions in Section 67 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. The guidance requires information about the number of registered sex offenders in each police area to be published. This will take place from April 2002 and local systems are being put in place to deliver it. Until these systems are in place such information could only be obtained by a specific exercise by the particular police force concerned which would lead to disproportionate costs.
After April 2002 such figures will be available for each police authority area. However, this will not necessarily be the same as the Parliamentary constituency.
(8) Statistics compiled by Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) from a PNC
(9) Percentages given in brackets are a fraction of the number of offenders with a registration document
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