Mr. Jon Owen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 23 April 2001, how he proposes to measure his performance against the first and fourth of his targets in his Tackling Drugs strategy; what figures he is currently using for the numbers of young people using illegal drugs and the amount of drugs available on the streets; and how he has arrived at these estimates. [158935]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe target covers young people aged under 25 years, and is based on measuring the proportion of people who report use of Class A drugs (heroin, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, ecstasy, magic mushrooms, methadone and LSD). This is measured principally by the British Crime Survey (BCS) which is a nationally representative victimisation survey of households in England and Wales. The survey is administered annually (from 2000) using computer-assisted interviewing to a random sample of households, with a sample of 40,000 (from 2001 onwards), aged 16 and upwards.
The results from the 1998 BCS form the baseline. The proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds reporting use of Class A drugs in the last year was 8.3 per cent. and in the last month was 3.4 per cent. The report on the drugs component of the 1998 BCS published in 1999 as Home Office Research Study 197, and is available in the Library.
The baseline information from the BCS will also be supplemented by other available research, including the results of a school-based survey.
The baseline in terms of drug availability will be based on a range of current and planned research (including intelligence estimates). The 1999–2000 baseline that determines the availability of drugs in the United Kingdom will be measured in a forthcoming Home Office research study. This study will estimate the size and extent of the United Kingdom drugs market for selected drugs including heroin, crack and cocaine. The Home Office will publish the findings of this research in the summer of 2001.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Drug Prevention Advisory Service Business Plan. [159023]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Drugs Prevention Advisory Service Business Plan is currently being prepared for publication and should be available by 2 May. We will arrange for copies to be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug treatment and testing orders have been(a) made, (b) breached and (c) revoked by the courts since the national roll-out of the order in October 2000. [158946]
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§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe available information is shown in the table:
Drug treatment and testing orders England and Wales 1 October 2000–31 March 20011 Number of orders Made 1,250 Breached 2— Revoked by courts 100 1 Estimated from those returns received from the 42 areas Not 2 Not available at present
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were dealt with for supply offences in respect of Class A drugs for the calendar years(a) 1996, (b) 1997, (c) 1998, (d) 1999 and (e) 2000 and for the financial years (i) 1996–97, (ii) 1997–98, (iii) 1998–99, (iv) 1999–2000 and (v) 2000–01. [159024]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeNot all the information requested is available. The table gives the number of persons dealt with during the calendar years 1996 through 1999 for supply offences involving Class A drugs. Data for 2000 are not yet available. Information broken down by financial year can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Persons dealt with for supply offences involving Class A drugs, United Kingdom, 1996–99 year Police (Great Britain) Customs (United Kingdom) Total 1996 5,332 425 5,757 1997 6,813 510 7,323 1998 7,866 236 8,102 1999 9,133 384 9,517 Notes:
1. Police data not available by drug type for Northern Ireland, 1996–99. 'Dealt with' means found guilty, cautioned, given a fiscal fine (Scotland only), or dealt with by compounding (Customs).
2. 'Supply' offences have been taken to mean: unlawful production, possession with intent to supply unlawfully, unlawful supply, and unlawful import/export.
Source:
Drugs and Alcohol Research Unit, Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the results
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Notifiable offences recorded by the police by police force Vehicle crime (thefts of and from vehicles) Police force Offences year ending March 1999 Offences year ending March 2000 Change Percentage change Offences year ending September 2000 Avon and Somerset 37,823 34,411 -3,412 -9 32,669 Bedfordshire 12,752 14,442 1,690 13 13,897 Cambridgeshire 13,233 12,443 -790 -6 11,819 Cheshire 12,447 12,176 -271 -2 12,443 Cleveland 14,301 13,030 -1,271 -9 13,410 Cumbria 6,477 5,414 -1,063 -16 4,747 Derbyshire 20,273 18,121 -2,152 -11 16,119 Devon and Cornwall 22,270 21,438 -832 -4 21,207 Dorset 12,298 11,427 -871 -7 10,851 Durham 10,056 9,126 -930 -9 8,689 Essex 22,278 20,429 -1,849 -8 19,718 Gloucestershire 11,196 10,244 -952 -9 9,056 Greater Manchester 87,181 87,932 751 1 85,306 Hampshire 24,425 23,363 -1,062 -4 23,046 Hertfordshire 13,320 12,578 -742 -6 13,456 of his Department's research into the results of the new England and Wales Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Initiative. [159022]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe first annual report of the new England and Wales Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring programme (NEW-ADAM) will be published in the summer of 2001. The results of previous NEW-ADAM studies are in the Library (Home Office Research Studies 183 and 205; published in 1998 and 2000).