HC Deb 11 March 1997 vol 292 cc125-6W
Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that the drug confiscation fund may be used for prevention campaigns on the lines of drug abuse resistance education. [18953]

Mr. Maclean

I am not sure whether the question refers to the seized assets fund or the central drugs fund, both of which draw on the proceeds of drug trafficking seized under international confiscation agreements.

The seized assets fund is used for individual projects directed against the misuse of drugs and drug trafficking. Its use is not restricted to enforcement initiatives—expenditure is split about equally between enforcement work and projects for prevention, education and rehabilitation. All applications are considered on their merits. Because of the uncertainty of the amounts available from one year to the next, the fund supports one-off projects rather than continuing programmes.

The central drugs fund is focused on enforcement. It helps meet the additional costs to United Kingdom police forces of international drugs investigations.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations on anti-drug campaigns he has received from the Department for Education and Employment since 26 February. [18951]

Mr. Sackville

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Employment wrote to me on 3 March 1997 to draw my attention to the debate on drug abuse resistance education which took place on 26 February 1997.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he is giving to reforming the budget process of police forces to enable them to invest equal funds in drug prevention campaigns on the lines of drug abuse resistance education and on drug law enforcements. [18952]

Mr. Maclean

None. The allocation of resources and the deployment of officers are operational matters for individual chief officers of police. They must decide on their own priorities, taking local needs into account. Each force has a drugs strategy, which covers prevention and education as well as enforcement, and all forces are represented on their local drug action teams.