HL Deb 20 November 1996 vol 575 cc1255-6

2.50 p.m.

Lord Peyton of Yeovil asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their estimate, to the nearest £100 million, of the total amount of resources under their control and that of local government which is absorbed by all aspects of the problem of illegal drugs.

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch)

My Lords, in addition to the estimated government annual expenditure of over £500 million devoted to tackling drug misuse, there are other costs which result from the problem. These include costs associated with unemployment, housing and childcare, as well as the cost of dealing with other forms of crime linked with drug misuse which cannot easily be estimated with any kind of accuracy.

Lord Peyton of Yeovil

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for the effort that she has made to put together information which is truly shocking. I ask this Question with absolutely no tone of criticism. I very much hope that she will do what she can to initiate some effective international action. These awful figures must be reflected in the cost that is borne by other nations as well.

Baroness Blatch

My Lords, what is truly shocking is the problem of drugs itself. It is very important that the Government leave no stone unturned in tackling this problem. That is why we have a strategy for tackling drugs misuse which includes treatment and rehabilitation programmes; prevention and education; deterrence and control; police, Customs and enforcement; and, as my noble friend just said, the importance of international action, too.

Lord Taverne

My Lords, in view of the enormous size of the problem, will the Minister assure the House that there is effective co-operation between the different departments involved and that there is no sense, as it were, of territorial ownership and rivalry between different ministries? In view of the size of the problem, would it not be best to have one department in overall charge of the battle against drugs?

Baroness Blatch

My Lords, we have a very positive answer to that point. The Lord President of the Council chairs a Cabinet sub-committee which represents all the relevant departments. It is important that, in developing policy, it considers the part that it needs to play in developing drug strategies. More important, and at a more practical level, is the development of drug action teams which are collaborative at a local level; that is, all the professionals from health services, the police, prisons, local authorities and the community coming together corporately in effective collaboration at local level, while the Cabinet sub-committee works at a national level across departments and exchanges intelligence and information internationally.

Lord Stoddart of Swindon

My Lords, will the Minister state what proportion of the £500 million relates, first, to soft drugs and, secondly, to hard drugs?

Baroness Blatch

No, my Lords, I am unable to answer that question. All the programmes that are in place tackle the whole issue of drugs. It is very important that the taking of drugs, whether soft or hard, is dealt with as part of an overall drugs problem. There is no breaking down of the moneys in that way. The figures are broken down in relation to treatment, rehabilitation and education programmes, international spending etc., but not as between hard and soft drugs.