§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the proportion of people under 25 reporting use of illegal drugs(a) in the last month and (b) in the last 12 months in each year since 1997. [5884]
§ Mr. DenhamThe British Crime Survey provides data on the levels of self-reported drug use among a representative sample of the general population in England and Wales. The survey of smoking, drinking and drug use among school children provides equivalent data for those aged 11 to 15 years.
Table 1 provides the relevant data for 1998 and 2000 for those aged 16 to 24 years. Table 2 provides the equivalent data for 11 to 15-year-olds.
Table 1: Percentages of respondents aged 16 to 24 years reporting use of illegal drugs in the last year and last month, in England and Wales Last year Last month 1998 29 19 2000 29 18 Bases: 1998=1,296; 200=1,517
Source: Drug Misuse Declared in 2000; results from the British Crime Survey, Home Office research Study 224
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Table 2: Percentages of school children aged 11 to 15 years reporting use of illegal drugs in the last year and last month, in England Last year Last month 1998 11 7 1999 12 7 2000 14 9 Bases: 1998 = 4,647; 1999 = 9,053; 2000 = 6,855
Source: Department of Health Statistical Press Notice, July 2001. Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2000
§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of people under 25 who were using heroin in 1998, and in each subsequent year to date. [5760]
§ Mr. DenhamThe British Crime Survey provides data on the levels of self-reported drug use among a representative sample of the general population in England and Wales. The table provides data for 1998 and 2000 on the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds who have used heroin and the estimated number of 16 to 24-year-olds who have used heroin. Further information on population estimates and how these have been calculated is available in Chapter 5 of the main report (referenced in the table).
Estimated numbers for the younger age group (11 to 15-year-olds) are not available.
Table 1: Percentage of 16 to 24-year-olds who have used heroin in the last year and last month use (England and Wales) 1998 2000 Proportion using heroin in the last year 0.30 0.80 Estimated numbers 17,000 46,000 Proportion using heroin in the last month 0.27 0.32 Estimated numbers 15,000 18,000 Bases: 1998 = 1,296; 2,000 = 1,517
Source: Drug Misuse Declared in 2000; results from the British Crime Survey. Home Office Research Study 224