§ 11. Dr. IddonTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement on trends in fatalities due to misuse of illegal drugs. [139187]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyChanges in the way these data have been collected and recorded make it difficult to compare accurately year-on-year figures.
The Government are currently considering the recommendations contained within the Advisory Council on the recent Misuse of Drugs report "Reducing Drug Related Deaths". These include proposals for improving the collection and analysis of data.
What is absolutely clear is that the number of these tragedies has risen steeply over the last 20 years. Last year there were 3,000 drug related deaths within the United Kingdom.
As part of the Government's 10 year strategy for tackling drugs misuse we are committed to reducing the number of these deaths and we have committed the resources to make this possible. By 2003–04 we plan to spend some £996 million tackling the root causes of drug misuse compared with the £700 million being spent this year.