§ Mr. Wareingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions for drug pushing have been secured in the Merseyside county police area in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. MellorThe information requested is given in the following table:
Persons found guilty of unlawful supply of a controlled drug or possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply unlawfully Mersey side police force area, 1979–83 Number of persons 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Unlawful supply 4 8 4 4 29 Possession with intent to supply unlawfully 5 2 7 11 24 Total* 9 10 10 15 46 * In some cases the same person was found guilty of both offences so the sum of the individual figures is not always equal to the total.
§ Mr. Tony Lloydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the efforts being made to stop drug trafficking and drug abuse.
§ Mr. MellorWe are satisfied that Her Majesty's Customs, the police and other agencies are acting vigorously to combat drug trafficking and drug misuse. As shown by the recent initiatives described in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Mr. Eggar), on 22 November, at column397–98, we attach a high priority to measures directed at achieving this objective.