§ 41. Mr. Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the latest progress of his Department's programme to tackle drug misuse and abuse.
§ Mr. MellorWe continue to give a very high priority to our comprehensive strategy for tackling drug misuse, which is co-ordinated by the interdepartmental ministerial group on the misuse of drugs which I chair. Recent developments include the Indian Government's agreement in principle to the posting to that country of two United Kingdom drugs liaison officers; further enforcement successes by Customs and the police; the continued progress of our Drug Trafficking Offences Bill; the launch on 11 June of three new preventive radio advertisements and a new advice and information leaflet for parents; the release on the same day of a further round of independent evaluation results confirming the impact of our anti-heroin advertising campaign; and the further increase to 281W nearly 180 in the number of local treatment and rehabilitation projects assisted under the DHSS central funding initiative.