§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what guidelines are issued to the police regarding the searching of people at pop festivals for drugs; what is his policy towards random searching; and if he will make a statement;
(2) on how many occasions this year the police have randomly searched people for drugs at pop festivals; how many complaints he has had; what action he has taken; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what representations he has received concerning the repeal of section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act; what consideration he is giving to this; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MayhewSection 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 empowers a police officer to search any person whom he has reasonable grounds to suspect of being in possession of a controlled drug. Guidance to the police about the use of the power is contained in Home Office circular No. 133/1971, a copy of which is in the Library.
The circular draws attention in particular to a recommendation in a report by the Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence that modes of dress and hair style alone should never, by themselves or together, be regarded as constituting reasonable grounds to stop and search.
Use of the power in any particular circumstances is a matter for the chief officer of police concerned and, if
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§ Mr. GrayThe existence of significant hydrocarbon deposits in the North Sea was firmly established only in the 1960s. Estimates before these related only to small amounts of land reserves, which were not aggregated in any formal way. Similarly there were no official estimates of aggregate reserves offshore before 1970. The figures provided before that date are simply the total proven reserves of fields discovered before the end of each of the years listed.
All figures relate to proven reserves, although the amounts given for land in the earlier years probably covered those then estimated by the operator as economically recoverable; subsequent oil price rises have extended field life.
Estimates of how long the reserves would last for years up to 1960 are rather meaningless. No precise estimates are available either for years after 1960; the reserves for these years have therefore been compared with United Kingdom consumption in each year.
necessary, the courts. But it is not the practice of the police to conduct random searches of those who attend pop festivals.
Information about the number of complaints to the Home Office of random searching by the police is not readily available, but complainants have been advised to write to the chief officer of police of the force concerned so that their complaints may be investigated in accordance with the procedures laid down under the Police Acts 1964 and 1976.
In the first eleven months of 1980, the Home Office received 12 letters suggesting that section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act should be repealed. We shall consider that, and other police powers of search, in the context of the report of the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure.