§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what new proposals he has to discourage the use of cannabis by school children. [31440]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisResources are available in 1998–99 to schools and the youth service for drug education (including that related to cannabis) through the Standards Fund, and have just been increased to £7 million.
Certain aspects of drug education are already a statutory requirement for all pupils aged 5 to 16, as part of the National Curriculum science Order. It is for individual schools to consider whether, and if so how, they might wish to extend provision of drug education beyond this statutory minimum. We would expect all drug education programmes, however, to give pupils the facts about drugs, including cannabis, emphasise a healthy lifestyle and to give young people the knowledge and skills to make informed and responsible choices now and later in life.