§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of convictions in 1998 of motorists charged with driving while under the influence of(a) alcohol and (b) drugs; and if he will make a statement. [101097]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeIt is not possible in the statistics held centrally to distinguish between convictions for driving while under the influence of drugs and convictions for drinking under the influence of alcohol because the charge does not distinguish which of the two is involved.
Figures of convictions for motoring offences in 1998 have not yet been published, but provisional figures show that some 93,000 convictions for driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs were recorded in England and Wales, some 7 per cent. lower than the previous year.
Figures from the Forensic Science Service, however, show that 1,779 blood samples were analysed by them on behalf of the police service in England and Wales during 1998–99, following charges under Section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, approximately 90 per cent. of which were found to contain one or more drugs (although it is known that some police forces may have submitted blood samples for analysis elsewhere).