§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of(a) schoolchildren and (b) others are estimated to have been 182W involved in solvent abuse in each of the last five years; what further measures he proposes to eliminate this; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorI regret that information on the extent of solvent misuse is not available in the form requested. A number of limited studies have estimated prevalence among selected samples of young people but it would not be valid to extrapolate from these to national figures. As regards measures taken to reduce solvent misuse, I refer to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter) on 6 December at column131. We are reviewing the scope for further action in this area.