§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been in England and Wales for driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of illegal drugs in each of the last three years. [87656]
§ Mr. BoatengThe information requested is not separately identifiable from convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol in the statistics collected centrally.
However, figures obtained from the Forensic Science Service show that 1,266 blood samples were submitted to them for analysis by police forces in England and Wales in 1996–97 and 1,863 in 1997–98, and approximately 90 per cent. of the samples submitted were found to contain one or more drugs.
The high proportion of positive findings is likely to be as a result of the absence of specific training or other aids to identifying drug impaired drivers, so that police officers arrest only motorists who are obviously and grossly impaired. Moreover, before a sample can be taken a police surgeon has to agree that drugs are an explanation for the motorist's condition.