§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the expenditure by his Department on programmes in schools highlighting the dangers of drug abuse in 1997–98. [58825]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Department supported approximately £6 million of expenditure for drug education and prevention work, through the Grants For Education Support and Training (GEST) Programme in 1997£98, increased to £7 million in 1998–99 through the Standards Fund programme. This support was made available to Local Education Authorities, to assist schools in delivering effective drug education and managing drug-related incidents on schools' premises.
In addition, the Department supported £1.5 million of expenditure for the training of youth and community workers, which included among its objectives the effective delivery of programmes of drug education and prevention.