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Drugs
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested for supplying class A drugs to children in each of the last six years. [204777]
Caroline Flint: Figures for the number of people arrested for supplying class A drugs to children are not collated centrally. However, we do have figures for the number of people arrested 1 for supplying main class A drugs in each of the last six years.
This information can found in the Home Office Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics Supplementary Tables 2001 and 2002 publication which can be accessed via the RDS website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/hosb0804supp.pdf. Tables required within this publication are as follows:
| Drug type | Location |
|---|---|
| Cocaine | Table S2.17 |
| Crack | Table S2.17a |
| Heroin | Table S2.19 |
| LSD | Table S2.21 |
| Ecstasy-type | Table S2.23 |
| Methadone | Table S2.25 |
1 Found guilty, cautioned or dealt with by compounding.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what area surveys of illicit drug use have been conducted by his Department; and which age groups they covered. [216689]
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Caroline Flint: The main survey of drug use commissioned by the Home Office is the British Crime Survey, which measures illicit drug use among the general household population aged 16 to 59 years in England and Wales. Comparable information on drug use from this survey is available from 1996 and it is now conducted on a continuous yearly basis. In addition, the Home Office co-funds (with the Department of Health) a regular survey of smoking, drinking and drug use among schoolchildren aged 11 to 15 years in England. This has been carried out since 1986 but has not always cover drug use. Another Home Office survey, the Crime and Justice Survey, obtained information on illicit drug use among the general population aged 10 to 65 in England in 2003 and will provide follow-up data on drug use for the 10 to 25-year-olds in 2004 and 2005.
Other Home Office surveys which cover illicit drug use among other population groups but do not provide time series at present are:
the Arrestee Survey, a survey of arresteees aged 17 and over in a sample of custody suites in England and Wales (conducted since October 2003);
the Prisoners Criminality Survey, a survey of criminality among male prisoners in England and Wales was conducted in 2000. This survey asked about their drug use in the 12 months prior to custody;
the Community Penalties Criminality Survey, a survey of males and females serving community sentences throughout England and Wales was conducted in 2002. This survey asked about their drug use in the 12 months prior to interview;
the Survey of Mandatory Drug Testing in Prisons carried out in a representative sample of prisons in England and Wales in 2001 included questions on prisoners' illicit drug use prior to and in custody;
the 2001 Resettlement Survey included questions on prisoners illicit drug use before custody. The survey was a representative sample, which included participants from 76 prisons in England and Wales, with booster samples of female and young offenders. The youngest offenders included in the survey were aged 15.
Mr. Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders per head of population charged with trigger offences have tested positive for (a) opiates and (b) crack cocaine in (i) Birmingham, (ii) Bristol, (iii) Leeds, (iv) Liverpool, (v) Manchester, (vi) Newcastle, (vii) Nottingham and (viii) Sheffield in the last 12 months. [214016]
Caroline Flint: The Home Office does not collect drug test data based on offenders per head of population. Instead, data is collected on drug tests arising from offenders charged with specified offences in 47 DAT areas with the highest levels of acquisitive crime. The following table breaks down the positive drug test results recorded for opiates (heroin), cocaine/crack or both in relevant areas between January—December 2004.
Source:
DIP Monthly Monitoring Reports
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The data incorporate positive drug test results arising from trigger and non-trigger offences. Five per cent of the data can be attributed to positive drug test results resulting from non-trigger offences.
Mr. Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the percentage of crime linked to drug misuse in (a) Birmingham, (b) Bristol, (c) Leeds, (d) Liverpool, (e) Manchester, (f) Newcastle, (g) Nottingham and (h) Sheffield in the last 12 months. [214017]
Caroline Flint: Recorded crime figures are used to measure the extent of crime in local areas. Although these include statistics on drugs offences—such as possession—and on property crimes—such as burglary—they do not contain information on the offender's drug habits. It is therefore not possible to estimate from these statistics the percentage of all crime which is linked to the need to support a drug habit.
However, since April 2003 offenders charged in certain areas with certain offences known to be commonly committed by drug users have been tested for opiates (heroin) and cocaine/crack as part of the Drug Interventions Programme. The following table summarises the total number of offenders tested, and the numbers and percentages of those testing positive for opiates or crack/cocaine between January and December 2004 in the 47 DATs that operate drug testing on charge as part of the Drug Interventions Programme. This gives some indication of the proportion of property crime that may be linked to drug use, although it should be noted that not all crime by drug users is necessarily committed to support their habit.
Source:
DIP Monthly Monitoring Reports
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what quantity of illegal drugs was seized in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years; and what the estimated street value was of these drugs. [215160]
Caroline Flint:
Data on the quantity of the main illegal drugs seized in the United Kingdom is available in the Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United
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Kingdom, 2001 and 2002" Home Office statistical bulletin, for which figures are currently available. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
The data related to the estimated street value of drugs seized in 2000 (the last year for which the data was collated by the Home Office) is available in Table A: Value at street prices of main drug types seized by police and Customs, United Kingdom 2000" (page 27) of the Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom 2000 publication.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to ensure that drug users and the wider public are made aware of (a) what drug treatment involves and (b) the potential benefits of drug treatment. [213354]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
The Government recognise the importance of making the public aware of drug treatment and its potential benefits. The Department has taken steps to increase awareness through the Updated Drugs Strategy", published in 2002 and Tackling Drugs—Changing Lives", which was published in December 2004 and details progress on all areas of the drugs strategy since its launch in 1998.
Both these documents describe what drug treatment involves including the benefits of drug treatment as well as the actions that the Government are taking to get more users into treatment.
An awareness and communications campaign called FRANK was launched by the Government in 2003. This £3 million a year campaign informs young people and their parents, carers and families about the effects and risks of taking illicit drugs, and gives advice, support and all details of drug treatment services.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that drug treatment should be available on demand in the community. [213355]
Caroline Flint:
Waiting times for drug treatment are at their lowest ever and 54 per cent. more people are in treatment than in 1998. Drug treatment is available to individuals based on their needs. Drug Action Teams (DATs) are responsible for assessing local needs and then commissioning services accordingly to meet the assessed needs of individuals, using the Drug Pooled Treatment Budget and other mainstream funds. In
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2004, the Government announced significant year-on-year increases in the Pooled Treatment Budget from £253 million nationally in 2004–05 to £478 million nationally by 2007–08.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes he estimates were committed by drug users in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire in the last period for which figures are available. [213904]
Caroline Flint: Recorded crime and other measures of crime currently available at regional and national level do not contain information on the offender's drug habits. It is therefore not possible at present to estimate the number of crimes committed by drug users in England, the North West and Lancashire.
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions for drug-related crime there were in the Easington constituency in the last year for which figures are available. [215518]
Caroline Flint: Official conviction figures include statistics on convictions for drugs offences, such as possession, supply, and on property crimes such as burglary, but do not contain information on the offender's drug habits. It is therefore not possible to estimate the volume of convictions which are linked to the use of drugs or to the operation of drug markets.
Information on the number of known drug offenders found guilty or cautioned for drugs offences is available for police force areas only and it is not possible therefore to give an estimate for Easington alone. For the Durham police force area, there were 1,180 convictions for drugs offences in 2001. The equivalent estimate for 2002 is 1,200. This information is available in the Area Tables of the 'Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, UK, 2001 and 2002' filed in the House Library.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the change in the price of (a) heroin, (b) cocaine, (c) crack, (d) cannabis, (e) ecstasy and (f) magic mushrooms has been in each of the last five years. [211234]
Caroline Flint: UK average prices per gram or unit cost for heroin, cocaine, crack, cannabis resin, herbal cannabis and ecstasy for the past five years are shown in the following table. We do not hold any information on magic mushrooms.
The figures in the table are worked out on the basis of information provided by all UK law enforcement. However our current picture is limited. For example, no consideration is currently taken of purity or weighting for size of local markets in producing this figure. NCIS is currently reviewing this.
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Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list organisations and individuals consulted in the formulation of the Drugs Bill. [211230]
Caroline Flint: The information requested by my hon. Friend is included within the regulatory impact assessment, at paragraphs 1.8, 2.9, 3.9 and 4.2.8. The regulatory impact assessment is available on the Home Office website and in the Library.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of people in Greater London who took (a) heroin, (b) marijuana, (c) cocaine and (d) ecstasy in each of the last 10 years. [217552]
Caroline Flint: The British Crime Survey (BCS) in England and Wales provides estimates of the proportion of people living in private households who used drugs in the year before interview. In recent years, the sample size has been increased and reliable estimates of drug use by region are possible. A regional analysis was carried out for the 2001/02 BCS, and provided estimates of the proportion of people using different types of drugs for the Government Office Region (GOR) of London which are shown in the table.
Estimates of the number of drug users by region have not been made. There are also no directly comparable estimates for drug use by region published for earlier years. However, comparable figures for the prevalence of drug use in London will be included in a report of the drug use findings from the 2003–04 BCS to be published shortly.
It should be noted that, as a household survey, the British Crime Survey inevitably excludes people resident in institutions such as prisons, the army, student halls of residence, residential drug treatment centres and the homeless. The exclusion of these groups may result in an underestimation of drug taking prevalence.
Mr. Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for selling drugs where there was evidence of drug selling near schools there were in (a) Birmingham, (b) Bristol, (c) Leeds, (d) Liverpool, (e) Manchester, (f) Newcastle, (g) Nottingham and (h) Sheffield in the last year for which figures are available. [214040]
Caroline Flint:
It is not possible from the information held on the Home Office Court Proceedings database to identify whether a person was proceeded against for selling drugs outside a school, as the circumstances of the offence are not collected centrally.
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Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for (a) dealing in and (b) being in possession of (i) cocaine and (ii) LSD (A) Essex police and (B) Southend police have brought successfully in each year since 1997. [211438]
Caroline Flint: Data for cocaine and LSD drug possession and dealing prosecutions are currently not collated in the format requested.
Data on the number of known drug offenders found guilty or cautioned for cocaine and LSD drug offences, and the number of possession and dealing offences in the Essex police force area, are available in the appropriate sections in the Area tables of the Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom, 2001 and 2002", (the most recent year for which figures are currently available). Copies are available in the Library.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for (a) dealing in and (b) being in possession of (i) ecstasy and (ii) heroin (A) Essex police and (B) Southend police have brought successfully in each year since 1997. [211439]
Caroline Flint: Data for ecstasy and heroin drug possession and dealing prosecutions is currently not collated in the format requested.
Information on the number of known drug offenders found guilty or cautioned for ecstasy and heroin drug offences and the number of possession and dealing offences in the Essex police force area are available in the appropriate sections in the Area tables of the Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom, 2001 and 2002", (the most recent year for which figures are currently available). Copies are available in the Library.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for (a) dealing in and (b) being in possession of (i) amphetamines and (ii) cannabis (A) Essex police and (B) Southend police have brought successfully in each year since 1997. [211440]
Caroline Flint: Data for amphetamines and cannabis drug possession and dealing prosecutions is currently not collated in the format requested.
Information on the number of known drug offenders found guilty or cautioned for amphetamines and cannabis drug offences and the number of possession and dealing offences in the Essex police force area are available in the appropriate sections in the Area tables of the Drug Seizure and Offender statistics, United Kingdom, 2001 and 2002", (the most recent year for which figures are currently available). Copies are available in the Library.
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