§ 25. Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of British policy on combating the international trade in illicit drugs. [99970]
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§ Mr. BattleFCO co-ordinates the overseas drugs efforts of the relevant Government Departments including HM Customs and Excise and the Home Office. We also work to improve the effectiveness of the various international anti-drugs bodies, including at the UN and EU.
FCO activity is fully within the Government's 10 year anti-drug strategy under the UK's Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator, Keith Hellawell. Specifically, the FCO co-ordinates supply side overseas activity contributing to meeting the objective of reducing the availability of legal drugs in the UK.
We spend £6 million per year, on supporting projects worldwide within the framework of the UK drugs strategy to prevent the production and trafficking to the UK of Class A drugs, particularly heroin and cocaine.