§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department following the introduction of confiscation of assets following conviction of drug offences, what is the total amount so far confiscated, and what this money has been used for.
§ Mr. John PattenThe latest figures, which are in respect of confiscation orders made in 1987 and 1988, are given in table 7.25 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales, 1988," a copy of which is in the Library. These show that over £9 million were ordered to be confiscated in those two years. The current estimate by the national drugs intelligence unit of the cumulative total of confiscation orders made since the Drug Trafficking Offences Act came into force in January 1987 is in excess of £16 million.
Under present public accounting arrangements confiscated money is treated in the same way as fine revenue, and paid directly into the Consolidated Fund from which 565W Government expenditure generally—including substantial support for drug-related work—is financed. Ministers are considering the detailed arrangements whereby a proportion of the sums confiscated from drug traffickers as a result of international agreements might be used directly to strengthen the United Kingdom's enforcement and other efforts to curb drug misuse.