§ Mr. Pounderasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the number of registered drug addicts in Great Britain under 30 years of age at the latest convenient date for which statistics are available; and how this compares with five and 10 years ago, respectively;
(2) what is the number of registered drug addicts in Great Britain; and how this compares with the figures of five and 10 years ago, respectively.
§ Mr. George ThomasThere is no system of registration of drug addicts in this country. The Home Office keeps a list of known addicts. Information available regarding the numbers and age distribution of known addicts is as follows:
22W
Number of known addicts 31st December, 1954 31st December, 1959 31st December, 1964 (Provisional) Total 317 454 667 Under 20 years. Not known 0 24 20–34 years Not known 50 203
§ Sir F. SoskiceThe following table provides the answer: