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24 Jun 2004 : Column 1501W—continued
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) agenda and (b) minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs of 28 November 2002; [179235]
(2) who the members of the Statistics, Information and Research Committee of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs were in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003; and what the professional background of each is; [179236]
(3) if he will place in the Library a copy of the assessment of the Statistics, Information and Research Committee of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs of the cannabis related articles of the 23 November 2002 edition of the British Medical Journal; [179237]
(4) if he will place in the Library copies of the (a) agenda and (b) minutes of each meeting of the Statistics, Information and Research Committee of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in 2003; [179238]
(5) if he will place in the Library a copy of the research of the Statistics, Information and Research Committee of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs that informed the Advisory Council's final report on the reclassification of cannabis. [179255]
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Caroline Flint: The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is a statutory independent body established under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA 1971) to advise the Government on drug related issues within the UK. Two of the ACMD's subcommittees—the Technical Committee (TC) and the Statistics, Information and Research Committee (SIRC) held several joint meetings in relation to discussing the reclassification of cannabis. The TC has the broad remit of reviewing the MDA 1971 and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations. As part of this it has responsibility for advising the full Council as to the appropriate classification and scheduling of drugs. SIRC, which was dissolved on completion of the cannabis work, was responsible for monitoring and providing advice on research bearing on drug misuse in the UK and drawing attention to the full Council features which appeared most significant. Included at Annex A, is a list of all SIRC members between 2001 and 2003 with their backgrounds and the organisation which they represented. Also included is a list of all Technical Committee Members during the discussions on cannabis reclassification and their respective background and the organisations that they represented.
The ACMD's minutes and agendas are not public documents. The published report—"The Classification of Cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971", published in 2002 represents the considerations and conclusions of the TC, SIRC and the full Council on the reclassification of cannabis. This includes a list of published research material which was taken into consideration. As indicated above, SIRC was disbanded on completion of the cannabis work. However, the articles featured in the British Medical Journal published on 23 November 2002 were closely considered by Professor David Nutt (chair of the ACMD Technical Committee), Sir Michael Rawlins (chair of the ACMD) and Department of Health officials who were content that the advice given by full council to reclassify cannabis was not compromised by the content of the articles.
Annex A: Membership to the Statistics. Information and Research Committee 2001–03
Mrs. K. Roberts—Pharmacist
Dr. M. Donmall—Manchester University Drugs Research Unit
Dr. N. Dorn—Drugscope
Ms. V. Evans—Drugscope
Mr. P. Hayes—National Treatment Agency
Dr. M. Hickman—Department of Social Science and Medicines
Professor M. Lader—Psychopharmacology
Dr. L. King—The Forensic Science Service
Mr. M. Silver—National Criminal Intelligence Service
Richard Pates—Clinical Psychiatrist & Chair of the Advisory Panel on Substance Misuse for the Welsh Assembly
Ms. C. Clancy—Senior Lecturer (Mental Health and Addictions)
Mr. M. Frischer—Department of Medicines Management, Keele University
Ms. S. Haw—Health Education Board for Scotland
Mr. P. Stroner—Scottish Drugs Misuse Database
Professor J. Strang—Senior Lecturer, Addiction Research Unit
Ms. K. Barton—SEHD
Mr. N. Wilson—National Criminal Intelligence Service
Technical Committee Members during the discussions on the reclassification of cannabis
Professor D. Nutt—Psychopharmacology, University of Bristol
Dr. J. Duxbury—Department of Oral Medicine, University of Manchester
Dr. C. Gerada—General Practitioner
Dr. N. Gill—Public Health Laboratory Service
Ms. L. Hewitt—Project Manager, Stockwell Project
Mr. R. Howard—Drugscope
Mr. A. Hunter—The Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry
Professor R. S. Jones—Department of Anaesthesia, University of Liverpool
Dr. L. King—The Forensic Science Service
Professor O. Meth-Cohn—Chemist, University of Sunderland
Dr. D. Paterson—Consultant Psychiatrist
Professor M. D. Rawlins—Psychopharmacology, University of Newcastle
Mrs. K. Roberts—Pharmacist
Dr. S. Reuben—Liverpool Drug Dependence Clinic
Professor G. Phillips—Chemist
Dr. S. L. H. Thomas—Regional Drugs and Therapeutics Centre, Newcastle
Dr. J. Loudon—Health Department, The Scottish Executive
Dr. M. Griffin—The Forensic Science Service
Dr. E. Major—Medicines Control Agency
Mr. R. Treble—Laboratory of the Government Chemist
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research has been promoted by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in each of the last five years. [179259]
Caroline Flint: The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) does not actively promote any external research. It does commission its own research and also considers and references other pieces of work in the course of its research. In the last five years the ACMD has published pieces of research which include: Hidden Harm: Responding to the needs of problem drug users, The Classification of Cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and Reducing Drug Related Deaths.
Assets Recovery Agency
Mrs. Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total budget of the Assets Recovery Agency has been since January 2003; and how many staff have been employed. [179893]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 22 June 2004]: The Assets Recovery Agency became operational on the 24 February 2003. It received a budget of £13 million in 2003–04 and £15.5 million in 2004–05. The agency employs a total of 131 staff.
Mrs. Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been recovered by the Assets Recovery Agency since January 2003 through civil recovery orders. [179894]
Caroline Flint
[holding answer 22 June 2004]: The Assets Recovery Agency became operational on 24 February 2003. In its first full year of operation, the
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agency adopted for action 59 civil recovery cases. These cases have almost £50 million of recoverable assets attributable to them. In 24 of the cases interim receiving orders or freezing orders have been obtained with a total recoverable asset value of £14.1 million.
The agency has successfully recovered £2,000 in a tax assessment case, £16,000 in a civil recovery order and obtained a confiscation order with a value of £335,000.
Mrs. Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil recovery orders have been successfully prosecuted by the Assets Recovery Agency since January 2003. [179895]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 22 June 2004]: The Assets Recovery Agency became operational on the 24 February 2003. In its first full year of operation the Agency adopted for action 59 civil recovery cases. A further 27 cases are being assessed for possible civil recovery action. The Agency has successfully completed one civil recovery order. The remaining cases are being taken forward.
The Agency has also obtained one criminal confiscation order and has assisted the law enforcement authorities in the investigation of 17 confiscation cases.
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