HC Deb 14 June 1990 vol 174 c316W
36. Mr. Vaz

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on any new Government initiatives to deal with the drugs problem.

Mr. Mellor

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Dykes) on 29 January at column19 in which I listed recent initiatives for combating the misuse of and traffic in drugs.

Further developments include:

  • the announcement of plans for a United Kingdom task force to advise other countries on ways of reducing the demand for drugs;
  • the setting up of a joint police/customs task force, to target cocaine and crack;
  • plans for the first seven Home Office drug prevention teams to be located in the London boroughs of Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Southwark and in Birmingham, Brighton and Liverpool;
  • a further tranche of drug-related assistance to Colombia, amounting to some £4.5 million;
  • the unanimous adoption of a detailed 35-point political declaration at the conclusion of the world ministerial drugs summit in April giving a commitment to a range of practical measures to reduce the demand for drugs and combat the cocaine threat.