HC Deb 24 March 2003 vol 402 cc3-5
2. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby)

What plans he has to support communities in the fight against drugs.[104107]

The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett)

We accept that communities have a major role to play in tackling drug-related crime and antisocial behaviour. The communities against drugs programme has been successful, but we have decided to target those areas most affected with a £46 million programme for the 30 basic crime units that face the greatest difficulty from the expansion of drug treatment and testing orders, and the expansion of after-care work for those coming out of treatment—including those coming out of prison.

Lawrie Quinn

My right hon. Friend will know that market towns and rural areas in my part of North Yorkshire suffer from the scourge of drugs activity. The North Yorkshire police force has done an excellent job in building relationships with communities to fight that evil. Would my right hon. Friend or one of his colleagues be prepared to visit North Yorkshire soon to hear about the excellent initiatives in the fight against drugs in rural areas and to support the sterling efforts of the North Yorkshire police force to protect the many sensitive military bases in the county?

Mr. Blunkett

I was pleased to come to North Yorkshire about 15 months ago to see the work that was being done, and I would be happy, as would my hon. and right hon. Friends, to enjoy the spring sunshine in Scarborough, which would do us the world of good. When we were there, we acknowledged the major challenges in dealing with drug taking, particularly in coastal towns such as those that my hon. Friend represents.

I hope that the House will forgive me if I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham), whom we will all miss on the Front Bench. He did a sterling job. We will also miss from the Opposition Front Bench—although he is with us this afternoon; he has not died—the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Malins). We shall miss his company on these occasions.

Mr. Charles Hendry (Wealden)

Will the Secretary of State do more to encourage drugs awareness education in primary schools? Is he aware that many excellent schemes around the country rely almost entirely on voluntary funding? Will he talk to his colleagues at the Department for Education and Skills to see how those schemes can be given more support and more resources to carry out their vital work?

Mr. Blunkett

In recent years, there have been substantial improvements in the ways in which sensitive drug policies are applied in schools. Coverage is almost 100 per cent. in secondary schools, and almost 90 per cent. in primary schools. However, a lot of work still has to be done, and people will need proper training to do it. We have to be very sensitive when dealing with the age group that the hon. Gentleman describes, but it is essential to start schemes with children of that age so that they can understand the dangers around them and what is pushed on them when they are out of school.

John Mann (Bassetlaw)

The Dutch Government say that treatment of heroin addicts more than pays for itself. If the Secretary of State agrees, will we this year in this country see the money to treat all heroin addicts within 24 hours?

Mr. Blunkett

I repeat the tribute that I have paid before to my hon. Friend for the work that he and those who work with him have done in his constituency on this issue. I remember his asking the Prime Minister whether, given that there was a three to one gain in terms of investment in tackling heroin, he could have such a three to one gain in his constituency. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was sitting next to me at the time, and I said that I would discuss the matter with him.

Mr. Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath)

I join the Secretary of State in his tribute to the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham) and my hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Malins) for the work that they have done.

Does the Secretary of State accept that many people at the sharp end in drug treatment and many people in education share in our criticism that the system is not working well enough? There are far too few residential places for intensive rehabilitation for users of hard drugs. Does the Secretary of State accept that, for all the rhetoric, the reality at the sharp end is that drug professionals feel that not enough is being done and that the Government are sending all the wrong signals, especially to young people at school?

Mr. Blunkett

I do not accept—nor do drug professionals—that we are sending the wrong signals. Professionals are entirely on board with our commitment to tackle class A hard drugs and to ensure that the £500 million of additional resources being pumped in over the next three years will have the impact that we want. However, I accept that it is critical to ensure that being sent to prison is not the only way in which a person can be given secure residential treatment. That is why arrest referral through drug treatment and testing orders is so important. Intermediate programmes that do not rely on extremely expensive residential care can have an important impact.

Mr. Bill Tynan (Hamilton, South)

Does my right hon. Friend agree that resources for parent education are absolutely essential if we are to make real progress in ensuring that communities are able to tackle the drugs issue?

Mr. Blunkett

Informing and supporting families is absolutely critical, and it has been a theme of mine since I first attended a day conference organised for and on behalf of the families of drug users to ensure that we do that. I want to pay tribute to the Community Fund—I do not always do so—for the work that it has done in supporting that endeavour, and we need to do a lot more through the additional resources that the Government are allocating.