§ 36. Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his measures against drug dealers; and if he will make a statement. [121567]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeActivity aimed at stifling the availability of illegal drugs on our streets is set out in the Government's 10-year anti-drugs strategy for which demanding targets have been set in the United Kingdom Anti-drugs Co-ordinator's National Plan. The police, with other enforcement agencies, have been working towards achieving these and interim targets. The United Kingdom Anti-drugs Co-ordinator will report on progress in his second annual report, to be published in the summer.
The "Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics Bulletin", published in February, reports that the overall number of seizures in the United Kingdom went up by 8 per cent. in 1998 to 149,900. The number of persons found guilty of, or cautioned for, offences of unlawful supply and of possession with intent to supply, totalled 16,246.